Sonic Heroes: Series
by Babylon Sky Hawk
Summary: Metal Sonic is beaten and peace returns to the world. But not for long. Now, the heroes must unite once more to defeat Eggman's new army and the mysterious Dark Rulers led by the evil Nazo
1. Heroes United Again, Part 1

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sonic characters, just the OC's

Chapter One: Heroes United Again, Part 1

Over a month had passed since Metal Sonic had returned after disappearing for three years and nearly succeeded in his creation of the Metal Empire. If not for the brave efforts of a group of animalistic heroes, the world as we know it would never be the same. Eggman was still grieving over Metal's betrayal and loss of his army of Chaos clones, but his attitude changed when he had gained a new and more loyal servant: Mecha Shadow. Eggman had not made an appearance during the last month, which kept Sonic and the other heroes on edge. But unknown to any of them, Eggman was flying his new Egg-Carrier III over the south Pacific, preparing to engage in his next evil plot.

Mecha Shadow was holding a clipboard in his metallic claws and checked off another part of the list. "It would seem the production lines are moving quite well. Much better then Eggman had anticipated." Mecha said. Mecha looked down from the railing to gaze down at the enormous factory below. There were hundreds of machines were filling large black pods one by one with a strange blue liquid and then electrocuted them with green lightening before moving on down the conveyer belt. "Soon there will be enough to build an entire army. And then, Eggman will finally be able to rule the world!" Mecha proclaimed. "MECHA!!!" Mecha Shadow instantly snapped the clipboard in half at the sound of the annoying voice. Mecha Shadow looked over to see a small demon-like robot wear a pair of gloves, red shoes, and a mini jetpack. He was known as Bokkun, but Mecha nicknamed him, "The irritating pest". "What do you want you irritating pest?" Mecha asked. "I have a message for you." Bokkun said as he pulled out a wide screen TV from his tiny bag. "I will never figure out how you do that." Mecha said as he grabbed the remote from Bokkun and turned on the TV.

Eggman's face appeared on the television screen. "Mecha, this is an urgent message. We will be arriving in Station Square in exactly twenty-four hours. I must know how my plan is coming along. Report to me as soon as you receive this message." Eggman said before Mecha turned the message off. "I guess I should make my report." Mecha said. "Wait! There's another message for you." Bokkun said from over ten feet away. If Mecha had an expression, t would be one of confusion. Mecha looked back to the wide screen TV and saw a countdown had been activated. It was just then that Mecha remembered Bokkun's _other_ function was. "OH SHI..." the television blew up in Mecha's face. Bokkun was rolling around the floor, laughing, until Mecha's claw came from out of nowhere and grabbed his tiny neck. "There's one thing you should know. I'm not forgiving like Eggman." Mecha threatened. Bokkun was sweating a waterfall as he knew what kind pain he was in for.

Eggman was sitting in his nice, comfy chair, looking out to the calm and tranquil ocean. "Ah, life doesn't get any better then this. Actually, it would be if it wasn't for the meddlesome hedgehog!" Eggman flared. Just then, a scarred and beaten Bokkun landed on his lap as Mecha Shadow stood next to him. "Why did you build that irritating pest in the first place?" Mecha asked. "Eh, I was bored." Eggman said as he threw Bokkun to the side. "I'm ok." Bokkun said. "So, how are the production lines coming along?" Eggman said. Mecha bowed to Eggman and gave his report. "Everything is moving at an efficiency of 99.7. We have already created six squadrons and are ready to launch." Mecha reported. "Excellent. Launch the squadrons immediately and initiate my plan." Eggman demanded. "But sir, we still haven't located Metal Sonic yet." Mecha said. "We'll deal with him some other time. Right now, we have a few pests to exterminate." Eggman snickered devilishly.

* * *

Sonic was lay on the ground just a few miles away from Station Square, watching as the clouds went by. But he wasn't alone. After a long and tiresome day filled with irritation, Sonic had finally given it to the date her promised Amy. At first he was worried about Rector, who would beat Sonic on sight, but luckily, the red hedgehog had left town with two other people that Sonic hadn't met yet. Amy was kind of disappointed that their date wasn't glamorous, but hey, she finally caught Sonic, that was enough. "Hey, Sonic?" Amy asked. "Yeah?" Sonic returned. "Why did you bring me to come cloud watching? It's so boring." Amy complained. "Yeah, it is boring. But, give me some credit. It was the only thing I could think of." Sonic said. "How about a race?" Amy asked. "You're kidding, right?" Sonic smirked. "How about a little wager? If you win, I'll stopping asking you for dates for month. But if I win, you have to give me a kiss." Amy returned the smirk. "You're on." Sonic said, confident that he would win. Amy and Sonic crouched down into there positions as the started the countdown. "Ready? 3...2...1-AHH!" Sonic screamed as he was grabbed by the leg and flung to a nearby tree. 

"Sonic!" Amy screamed. She was prepared to run until she found herself surrounded by a group of black Chaos. One of the black Chaoses reached its arm out to strike Amy in the back of her neck and she fell limp into another Chaos arms. "Amy!" Sonic cried out. Sonic tried to stand up, but was pushed back down. Sonic looked straight up to see a Chaos different from the others. Unlike the others, this one was red. "Who are you?" Sonic asked. "I am the elite known as Red." Red said (Hey, that rhymed). "How original." Sonic said sarcastically. "Quiet you! Now we are going to being you to Eggman." Red said. "I don't think so." Sonic said as he curled into a ball and sliced through Red's body. "Hah!" Sonic laughed as he uncurled. Unfortunately, he landed in front of a black Chaos and was punched in the face. Sonic collapsed as the punch knocked him out. "What a fool." Red said as he reformed. Red took out a small communicator and said "We have captured both targets." "Perfect, being them at once." Mecha said on the other side. "Gotcha. All right, people, or whatever you are, take them to Eggman. He's waiting for them." Red ordered. The black Chaos nodded their heads to confirm his command. The black Chaos grabbed the two unconscious hedgehogs and dragged them away.

* * *

"Shadow in point A. Nothing is here, over" Shadow said into his wrist communicator. "Kumori in point B. Can't find anything here either, over." "Omega in point C. Success rate at zero, over." Both of his comrades replied. After Metal Sonic had been defeat, Shadow and Kumori reinstated their positions in G.U.N. and somehow got Omega to join with them. The three were currently on a top secret mission give to them by the president himself. It had been recently heard that Eggman activity was spotted in the forest near Westopolis and were assigned to investigate it. "There is definitely no sign of Eggman. It was all a hoax. Let's pull back." Shadow ordered. "Well it's about ti-AHH!" Kumori screamed. "Kumori, what's happening?!" Shadow yelled but received no reply. "Omega, what's going on?" Shadow asked. "Shadow, I am being attacked by creatures that look like Chaos. I don't know how much lon..." Omega's line was cut. "Creatures that look like Chaos? What's that suppose to mean?" Shadow asked himself. "It means you fell for our trap." A new voice entered. 

Shadow looked around and finally noticed a group of black Chaos surrounding him in the trees. "And here I thought you were the best. What a joke." Shadow looked behind him the lay his eyes on an orange version of Chaos. "And you would be?" Shadow asked. "I am the Elite know as Orange." Orange said. "Eggman obviously doesn't waste time making names." Shadow mocked, trying his best to keep a straight face, which Orange noticed. "Mock me, will you!" Orange yelled. Orange extended his arms out to strike Shadow, but black hedgehog easily jumped it. Shadow ran up Orange's long arms and gave him a mighty kick to the head. Orange fell back into a tree a then was lifted up by Shadow as he raised his fist to strike. "You're through." Shadow said. "I don't think so." Orange said. Shadow looked at him confused until he here more people passing through the bushes. It was Kumori and Omega who had been captured by the black Chaos. "Your choice. It's either me or them." Orange said. Shadow sighed in defeat and let Orange go. The black Chaos surrounded Shadow and easily captured him.

* * *

The scene now takes place in the middle of the Arabian Desert. But somewhere in the middle of this barren wasteland laid a large oasis hidden behind a series of mountains. In the middle of this oasis, Silver was kicking back at the lake while holding on to the fishing his hands. But Silver's mind was not on fishing at the moment, but instead on a certain lavender cat. Silver could only stare at Blaze as laid on the bottom bunk of the two person hammock. Blaze looked so beautiful in his eyes and the sun reflecting on her jewel made her even more beautiful. Silver's mind was brought back to reality when the line started to tug hard. "Whoa! Got a bite! And it's a big one!" Silver yelled in excitement. Unfortunately, the fish was apparently stronger then the grey hedgehog was pulled under. Silver had an irritate look on his face as he swam to shore and it only worsened when Blaze started laughing. "Hahaha! That was so funny!" Blaze laughed. His own girlfriend was laughing at him. Silver thought things couldn't get any worse. Oh, how wrong he was. 

In the middle of her laughing fit, Blaze was somehow trapped inside a spherical prison made of black water. "Blaze!" Silver cried out. Silver used his psychokinetic powers to lift himself into the air and charge at Blaze's prison. The next thing he new, Silver was kicked in the face and landed back in the lake. "Ok, there is no way my luck is that bad." Silver said. Just then, a yellow version of Chaos. "Who are you?" Silver asked. "I am the elite known as Yellow." Yellow said. Silver snickered at the name and tried his best not to laugh out loud. "Yes, I know my name is weird, but Silver's not exactly a normal name either." Yellow said. "Yeah, but it's cooler then Yellow." Silver stated. "Is not." Yellow said. Is too." Silver said. "Is not." "Is too." Silver and Yellow kept going back and forth with their conversation with names until one of the black Chaoses became too irritated to let this go on. The black Chaos wrapped its body around Silver to trap the grey hedgehog. Since the clones were made of pure chaos, Silver's psychokinetic powers were no use to him. "Let me go!" Silver demanded. "Not a chance. And by the way, my name is much cooler then yours." Yellow said. a large red vein could be seen on Silver's forehead.

* * *

Back at the Egg-Carrier III, Eggman was peacefully relaxing in his chair as Mecha Shadow made his reappearance. But Mecha wasn't alone this time. Right behind Mecha was Red, Orange, Yellow, and three new Chaoses. One was Green, another was Indigo, and the last one was Violet. "So, what have you to report?" Eggman asked. "Sonic and Amy successfully captured." Red said. "Shadow, Kumori, and Omega successfully captured." Orange said. "Silver and Blaze successfully captured." Yellow said. "Espio, Charmy, and Vector successfully captured." Green said. "Tails and Cream successfully captured." Indigo said. "Jet, Wave, and Storm successfully captured." Violet said. "As you can see, master, all our annoyances have been successfully captured." Mecha informed. "Not everyone." Eggman said. "Who are we missing, master?" Mecha asked. "My first experimental soldier and traitor himself. My first Chaos clone, Blue." Eggman said. 

"So, we get to meet the big boss himself, huh?" Yellow asked humorously. Violet whacked him over the head for that. "What was that for?!" Yellow complained. "You should learn your place, Yellow. The only boss we have is Eggman." Violet said. "And exactly why are we taking orders from the fat guy." Green asked. Mecha Shadow heard what he said and stared angrily towards his direction. "What did you say?!" Mecha yelled. "Enough. We are not the enemy, they are." Violet said. "Well said, Violet. Mecha, how long would it take us to reach Angel Island?" Eggman asked. Mecha walked up to Eggman's computer and started typing in a number of complicated coordinates. "According to the coordinates, Angel Island is in the direct path of Station Square." Mecha informed. "Perfect, soon I will have my revenge and I will rule the world!" Eggman proclaimed and added in his annoying evil laughter.

* * *

**This is my origional chapter and I am very concernd about it. I would like your most honest opinion on how to make it better. Thank you.**

**Please, read and review**


	2. Heroes United Again, Part 2

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sonic characters, just the OC's

Chapter Two: Heroes United Again, Part 2

It was over an hour since Sonic had suffered the most embarrassing defeat of his life and was starting to wake up. Sonic opened his eyes to find that he was no longer in the field of Station Square, but it some kind of container cell. "Whoa...what's going on?" Sonic asked while removing the sleep from his eyes. "It's about time you woke up." An aggravated and familiar voice said. Sonic's vision soon became clear and found that he was not alone. It containers next to his was not only Amy, but also Shadow, Kumori, Omega, Silver, Blaze, Team Chaotix, and the Babylon Rogues. "What are you guys doing here?" Sonic asked. "If we knew that, we wouldn't be here, idiot." Shadow commented. "You all here because you are my prisoners!" the Sonic Heroes looked over to see that their so-called 'captor was...Bokkun? "Huh?" the heroes said simultaneously. "That's right. You are the prisoners of Bokkun, the coolest robot ever!" Bokkun cheered. The heroes gave him a look that clearly said 'yeah, right'.

"All right, that's enough of the games, you annoying pest." Mecha said as he walked in the room. Bokkun's tiny body instantly stiffened at the sight of Mecha, which Shadow noticed. "Well, so this is Shadow. It is so good to finally meet you, my loathsome copy." Mecha said as he walked up to Shadow's container. "Great, just what we need, another Metal Sonic." Shadow said sarcastically, which earned fist to his container from Mecha. "Don't you dare compare me to that traitor!" Mecha yelled. Shadow and his metallic copy stared at each other for a moment before Mecha turned away and was headed for the door. "Don't let them out of your sight, Bokkun. Or there will be a price to pay." Mecha said. "Yes, sir!" Bokkun saluted as Mecha left. "Well, now what do we do?" Storm asked. "Shortly after I was captured, I sent a distress signal back to G.U.N. Now all we can do is wait." Shadow said. "15 minute till Station Square." The onboard computer said. "Let's just hope we can find a way out before it's too late." Espio said.

* * *

Angel Island, a flouting paradise that thrives from the past and has remained immune to the poisons of modern day technology. Currently, the guardian of the Master Emerald, Knuckles, was sparing against the false god of destruction, the Chaos Clone (or Blue as Eggman calls him). Knuckles and Blue both delivered hard punches and they both caught them with the other hand. Knuckles and Blue were extremely exhausted from the all day training and decide to stop. "Ok, that's enough. Let's take a break." Knuckles said. "Fine with me." Blue said as he fell on his back. Blue was really happy with his life, even if it wasn't real. The first day he arrived on Angel Island, he met the real Chaos and was able to learn his true meaning for existing. And just yesterday, Chaos said he was worthy enough to meet a special person. The one thing that wandered his mind was about who this person might be. 

"Aww, it's so cute when you two act tough." A familiar female voice sounded. Just then, a pair of white gloves wrapped themselves from behind Knuckles, instantly giving away the persons identity. "We don't act, Rouge. You didn't come to steal the Master emerald again, did you?" Knuckles asked as he unwrapped Rouge's arms to turn around to face his fiancé. Even though she and Knuckles were engaged to be married, that didn't stop the white bat from spending her remaining time to try and steal the echidna's most prized possession. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't." Rouge riddled while batting her eyes seductively at Knuckles. Knuckles grinned at the bat before planting a deep kiss on her lips, which she gratefully returned "Get a room." Blue said. "I think it's cute." Blue turned around to face the owner of the voice. If Blue had a jaw, it would drop straight down into the Earth's core. It was the real Chaos, but he was with the most beautiful creature Blue had ever seen in his artificial life. He couldn't take his eyes off her. Standing just next to Chaos was the echidna priestess, Tikal the Echidna.

"Uh...you're drooling." Chaos said in a language only Tikal and Blue could understand. "Hey, long time, no see." Rouge said to Tikal. "It is good to see you again, Rouge. Or should I say, Mrs. Echidna." Tikal said giddily. Rouge began to talk to Tikal about girl things, while Blue prodded Knuckles' shoulder to catch his attention. "What?" Knuckles asked. "Who is she?" Blue said in a daze. "Her? She's Tikal." Knuckles answered. "Tikal." Blue said dreamily. Tikal finally found a moment to break away from Rouge and walked up to Blue. Blue started to panic for a moment, but didn't show it. "Hello. It is good to finally meet you." Tikal bowed to him. "Uh, I...uh, what I...uh." Blue stammered. "That broke the ice." Rouge commented. "Are you ok?" Tikal asked as she reached out to him. But the second she touched him, he literally melted. "Does he usually do that?" Tikal asked. "We have no idea." Rouge said while staring at the Chaos puddle.

But in their moment of distraction, Knuckles and Rouge were suddenly caught in a cage made of black water. "What the?!" Knuckles shouted as he reeled back his fist to punch the cage, only to have it thrown back. "What's going on?!" Rouge shouted as she kicked at the cage, but it was no use. Sensing danger, Tikal reverted to a ball of light and returned to the safety of the Master Emerald. Chaos was prepared to strike at the cages when six multi-colored whips came from out of nowhere to knock him back. "Looks like we finally meet, Blue." Chaos sat up to see the six elite Chaos clones standing before him. "What's with the silent treatment, Blue?" Yellow questioned, obviously not realizing that they were faced against the real Chaos. Chaos showed of his claws in preparation for battle. "You're right. The time for talk is over. Let the battle commence." Violet said. The six Chaos elites moved into their battle stances a readied themselves for battle.

Chaos extended his claws out separated them into six tentacles. The tentacles struck the ground with great force, but the Chaos elites jumped away just in time to avoid them. Green and indigo ran side by side with each other and meld both their claws together to make a bigger claw. "Take this!" they shouted together as they swung their claw down. Luckily because of the added energy, the claw was slow and Chaos was able to jump over it and kick both Green and Indigo in the face. Yellow, Red, and Orange surrounded Chaos in a triangle as the morphed their claws into blades. "Let's see you try to get out of this one." Red said. The three elites charged at Chaos, but the god of destruction merely jumped over them, causing the three to crash into each other. Morons. If Chaos could laugh, he would. But just as he thought he had one, Violet came out of nowhere and slapped her (yes, violet is a girl) claws on Chaos' chest, leave a strange swirl mark on him. "CHAOS SEAL!" Violet shouted. All of a sudden, a surge of pain coursed through Chaos and forced him into his liquid state.

"You idiots can't do anything right." Violet said. "Well sorry if we weren't created with heightened intelligence." Green said as he separated his claw with Indigo's and they both disappeared. "Idiots. Chaos clones, take the prisoners back to Eggman." Violet commanded. The black clones nodded their heads in acknowledgement and took off with Knuckles and Rouge in hand. "You three take care of Blue." Violet said before disappearing. Red, Yellow, and Orange gathered around Chaos and perform a series of hand signs to create a multi-colored sphere to capture him. "All right, let's go." Red said and they disappeared with Chaos. Soon after, Tikal had returned to find that Knuckles, Rouge, and Chaos were nowhere to be found. It was only then that Blue woke up and reformed his body. "Whoa. What hit me?" Blue said while rubbing his head. "Knuckles and Rouge have been captured." Tikal said. "WHAT!" Blue said furiously. "And Chaos is with them." Tikal continued. "Not if I have anything to say about it." Blue said as he jumped to his feet. Just then, Blue pulled out the red chaos emerald he had secretly been holding and performed a famous chaos technique. "CHAOS CONTROL!" and with that, Blue disappeared.

* * *

Back at the Egg-Carrier III, Eggman gazed out the window to see that he had finally reached his target: Station Square. "Finally, I will take revenge on those who mocked me and I will rebuild this city in my own image!" Eggman gloated. Just then, Mecha swiftly appeared and kneeled before the mad doctor. "Eggman, Violet and the other elites have returned with the remaining captives and have securely imprisoned them inside their designated special cells." Mecha reported. "Excellent, but I do have one question. Who's watching the prisoners?" Eggman asked. "Bokkun." Mecha answered. There was a long and awkward period of silence after that. "Perhaps I should check on him." Mecha said. "Good idea." Eggman commented as Mecha left the room. "Now, let the Eggman Empire begin." Eggman said. Eggman activated a switch and gave a sinister smile. 

Now below in Station Square, after receiving Shadow's distress signal, G.U.N. was on full alert as they awaited Eggman's next move. The G.U.N. was watching from behind his soldiers, clearly worried. 'Shadow would never send a distress signal unless it was too strong for him to overcome. This could be bad.' The commander thought. "Commander, Eggman is attacking!" one of the soldiers screamed. Just as the soldier said, a secret hatch inside the Egg-Carrier III opened up and over a hundred black Chaos clones jumped out to land in front of the army. Not too long after, Violet, Indigo, Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red landed in front of the army as well. "What do we do sir?" A soldier asked. "We stand and fight! Let's not lose to these abominations!" The commander speeched. The G.U.N. soldier cried out for victory and charged at the Chaos army head on. "Do these fools really think they can beat us?" Indigo questioned. "Let us show them who their dealing with." Orange suggested. "Black clones, attack!" Violet ordered and the black Chaos obeyed.

As the battle went on, Blue suddenly appeared and dropped to the ground just in time to avoid a random soldier being flung across the street. "Ok, what's going on here?" Blue asked. Blue looked at his surroundings, he found that the G.U.N. soldiers were losing against the clones. No matter how much fire power they had, it was not enough to defeat the clones. "What in the world?" Blue looked over to see Violet in total shock. "But we captured you. How can you be here, Blue?" Violet asked. "Blue? I like it. It's kind of...catchy." Blue said stupidly. 'Yep, that's Blue alright. But if that's true, then the one we captured must be the real Chaos. Imagine how Eggman would reward me if I both of them to him.' Violet thought. Violet was already a greatly respected figure amongst Eggman's army. If she brought Blue and the real Chaos to Eggman, she would even surpass Mecha's rank. "Alright, Blue. I made a mistake before, but that's not going to happen again." Violet proclaimed. "Alright, bring it." Blue challenged. Violet charged at Blue and jumped up to kick at him.

* * *

Back at Eggman's make shift prison, Bokkun was asleep on the console, which gave the heroes to formulate a plan of escape. "All right, you know what to do?" Shadow asked. Everyone nodded. "Good, let's get started." Shadow said. "Bokkun." Cream said, causing Bokkun to wake up. "What?" Bokkun asked. "Can you please let me out?" Cream asked. "Sorry, can't do that. Doctor's orders." Bokkun said. Then, Cream performed her greatest and unbeatable technique: the cute puppy dog eyes. "Please?" Cream asked cutely. No one, not even a machine, could resist Cream's puppy dog eyes. "Ok." Bokkun said cheerfully. Bokkun pressed a button to let Cream out, not knowing that it also released all of the other cells. As the cells opened up, Sonic and Shadow ran up to Bokkun and smiled sinisterly down on the poor robot. "What do you think we should do with him?" Sonic asked as he the poor robot by his head. "Maybe we can open him up and see what makes him tick." Shadow suggested. "NO!!!" Bokkun cried. 

"Ok, that's enough torture for one day." Rogues said. "Yeah, he's not worth our time." Shadow said as Sonic threw Bokkun away. "I'm ok." Bokkun said. "Now what?" Charmy asked. "Now we have to get out of here. I received a message from the commander and his soldiers are in big trouble." Shadow told him. "Ok, but the question is, how do we get out of here without getting caught?" Kumori asked. Just then, Chaos wrapped his arms around the entire group. "Whoa, personal space, buddy!" Jet shouted. Chaos rolled his eyes and, to everyone's surprise, performed a group chaos control. "Wow, that was cool." Bokkun clapped. "BOKKUN!!!" Bokkun cringed at the sound of the voice and turned back, only to be lifted up by his scrawny neck. "Where are the prisoners?" Mecha questioned. Bokkun started sweating a waterfall. This was not going to end well.

* * *

Back in Station Square, hundreds of soldiers were lying on the ground, either injured or dead. Blue was thrown against the wall and collapsed to the ground. He barely had enough energy to look up to see the Chaos elite looking down on him. "Looks like it the end for you, traitor. But don't worry, we promise to make it as painless as possible." Yellow said as the six moved in for the kill. 'Damn, I can't believe it has to end here. And just after I met the most beautiful girl. Things never seem to go my way.' Blue held his head down in defeat. Just as victory seemed to be within their claws. The Chaos elite were pushed back by a strange gust of wind that came from out of nowhere. "What's going on?!" Violet shouted. As the gust disappeared, Blue looked and wanted to shout for joy. Standing right in front of him was the other seventeen Sonic Heroes and the real Chaos. 

"Guys! You're here!" Blue shouted in happiness. "Of course. You didn't think we would leave you hanging, did ya?" Sonic said while giving his signature grin and thumbs up. "What?! How did you escape?!" Violet shouted. "Bokkun." The group answered like it was the most obvious thing it the world. Which it was. "I should have known." Violet muttered while shaking her head. "Ok, fakers, give up now and we promise to make it easy on ya." Jet proclaimed. "You really think a group of animals, a robot, and a clone can stand up against all this?" Violet said, referring to the hundreds of black clones. "Oh, we should be more then enough to handle you." Knuckles smirked as he moved into his fighting stance along with the rest of his team. "Very well, have it your way." Violet said. 'And even if they do somehow manage to defeat us, they won't stand a chance against our ultimate attack.' Violet thought as the silhouette of a giant snake beast appeared in the back of her mind. The final confrontation of the Chaos clones was about to begin and only one side would survive.

* * *

**What is the ultimate attack Violet mentions and how will it effect the outcome? Will the heroes win or fall at the hands of the Chaos clones?**

**Please, read and review**


	3. Heroes United Again, Part 3

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sonic characters, just the OC's

Chapter Two: Heroes United Again, Part 3

Station Square was in ruins (when is it not) by the swarming attack of Eggman's Chaos clone army. The elite soldiers of the Guardian Units of Nations, or G.U.N., tried their best to stand up against this threat, only to fail in the end. Now all that was left standing between Eggman and total conquest were the eighteen heroes and the god of destruction. "Just give up while you still have a chance. You can't be us with this many clones." Violet said. "Oh, please. If we gave up, what kind of heroes would we be?" Blue commented. "Forget it, Violet. There's no sense in talking to them. Let's just kill them right now." Green said with his usual blood lust. Violet sighed. "All right, kill them. But leave Chaos and Blue to me." Violet commanded. 'After all, I need them if I am going to surpass Mecha.' Violet thought. "Get ready, everyone." Shadow warned. "Black clones, attack!" Violet commanded and the black clones followed.

"All right! It's party time! Sonic cheered. Three black clones individually swiped their claws to Sonic, but the blue blur quickly backpedaled to jump away. Sonic then curled into his ball form to use a spin dash straight through the black copies. Sonic looked back to admire his work. "A true work of art." Sonic joked. "Come and get me." Shadow challenged. Five black clones surrounded Shadow and extended their claws out to him. Shadow swiftly spun around to knock the claws away, but they only returned a second later to completely cover him. Just as it had looked like the clones had won, a red glow started to emerge from the black cocoon. "CHAOS BLAST!!!" Shadow yelled out. The red glow soon transformed into a mighty explosion that engulfed all the black clones. "Bring it!" Silver challenged. Silver ducked away as a black claw swiped at him. Just then, two more clones came up from behind, but Silver had already realized that. Using his psychokinetic powers, Silver lifted the two clones up and over his head. "I think these belong to you!" Silver exclaimed as he hurtled the black clones to the elites. Red merely transformed his claw into a blade and sliced through the clones without hesitation. 'These guys are ruthless. They'll kill their own men if they want. This is bad.' Silver thought.

"You ruined my date with Sonic!" Amy yelled. ---Somewhere else--- "I'LL KILL YOU, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!" Recter yelled ---back to the fight---. "You'll pay for that!" Amy yelled. Black clones rolled their eyes for a moment before making a quick run to Amy. Amy smirked as the clones came closer and reached behind her back. The clone's instantly stopped in their tracks at the sight of Amy's humongous hammer. The clones tried to run away, but Amy quickly swung her hammer down on the poor clones, reducing them to harmless puddles. "Nobody knocks me out and gets away with it." Kumori said. Kumori jumped to kick two clones in the head as another one grabbed her from behind. "Back off, bub!" Kumori exclaimed. Kumori slung the clone over her shoulder and punched it through the chest. "I didn't like how you interrupted our paradise. You'll have to be punished." Blaze smirked. Two black clones whipped their claws at Blaze, but the lavender cat jumped up to land on the arms. The black clones tried to retract their claws, but apparently since they missed, their claws were trapped in a nearby wall. Blaze ran along the clone's claws and ignited her hands to create a tornado of flames around her. The fiery tornado melted though the clones head and reduced them to water.

Vector trapped his jaw down on three of the black clones heads to rip them clean off. "Anyone else want some?!" Vector yelled. Five more clones stepped up. "Hey, not all at once." Vector said nervously. The five clones ran towards Vector and the green croc could only do one thing in this kind of situation: run like hell. "AHHH!" Vector screamed. Charmy was flying above the clone's heads, laughing at them. "You can't get me! You can't get me!" Charmy taunted them. Not a very bright idea. One of the black clones reached out from behind and pulled Charmy down into the crowd. Charmy looked around him to find a way out, but none were found. "Uh...can we talk?" Charmy asked. The black clones piled on him a started to beat up the poor bee. Unknown to them, Charmy had secretly snuck under them and watched as they beat each other up. Espio slashed two clones with a kunai and turned to block another clone attacking from behind. "This is getting nowhere." Espio said as he pushed the clone away. 'Hmm. Katon techniques won't work. I guess I'll have to use my other element.' Espio thought. Espio performed a series of hand signs and sucked in a great amount of air. "Fuuton: Kaze Tama no Jutsu" Espio called and began to spit out several wind made bullets that torn the clones apart.

Jet darted through the swarm of clones on his Wind Rider, knocking away as many as he could with his fans. "Like shooting fish in a barrel." Jet chuckled while swatting another two clones away. Just then, two more clones jumped at Jet from behind. Fortunately, Jet saw this and raised his golden ring into the air "TIME BREAK!" Jet yelled. Only a split second passed as Jet disappeared, only to reappear from behind the now destroyed clones. Wave swerving and turning in random directions through the clone army on her Tsunami. "Geez, don't these guys ever now when to quit?" Wave mumbled. But without her realizing it, a black clone outstretched its arms and caught the Extreme Gear, forcing Wave to the ground, head first. The black clones lifted Wave's Gear over its head in an attempt to break it in half until. "Don't-you-dare!" Wave screamed, the flames of anger burning brightly in her eyes. "Put the board down." Wave demanded. The clone, too scared of Wave, gently placed the Gear on the ground, only to be knocked away fifty feet by Wave's wrench. "Gotcha now!" Storm exclaimed as he held two clones in a headlock. Storm fell back to snap the clones necks and reduce them to puddles. The second Storm was down, over twenty clones piled on the large albatross. "GET OFF!" Storm yelled as he amazingly flung every clone off of him.

"You trespassed on my home; you captured and held me prisoner. But the one thing I won't forgive is you endangering my future wife. You're gonna pay!" Knuckles exclaimed Knuckles bashed his fists together to ignite them in flames with his echidna bloodline. The swarmed surrounded the enraged echidna, giving him the perfect opportunity to use his signature attack. "FIRE DUNK!" Knuckles shouted as he pounded his fists in the ground to create a huge shockwave of flames that incinerated the clones. "Get back!" Tails exclaimed as he threw another handful of explosive rings at the clones. It seemed as if every time he destroyed one clone, two more would take its place. There was no end to them. "There are too many of them." Tails said as he reached for his backpack. Unfortunately, a black clone snuck up behind Tails and grabbed his arm to raise him in the air. The black clone reeled back its fist to punch Tails until. "Don't you dare touch him!" Cream screamed (hey, that rhymed). All of a sudden, a small blue ball pounded against the side the clones, face to send it flying away five feet. Cream called Cheese back and ran to Tails side. "Tails, are you alright?" Cream asked in a concern manner. "Yeah, thanks to you." Tails said. The surrounding clones saw this as a chance and dived at the children. Luckily, the two flew up into the sky to avoid the pileup.

Rouge gave a roundhouse kick to one black clone just in time to flip over the clone behind her and kick its head off. "Sorry to disappoint you boys, but I'm taken." Rouge taunted. As one clone attempted to strike Rouge quickly took to the air, only to be grabbed by her leg and thrown to the ground. The clone piled on the white bat, but soon could hear a hissing sound. The pile broke up to see a large bomb with Rouge's signature card. The bomb exploded in their faces. Omega swung at a black clone with its metal claws, but his slow reactions easily allowed the clone to avoid it. As Omega charged, the black clone stretched its leg out to trip the heavy machine. If the clone could laugh, he would. But not for long. Omega turned his body completely around and changed his claws to machine guns. The clone had no time to react as Omega literally blew its brains out. Blue and Chaos were surrounded by the remaining black clones, but showed no signs of fear. Of course they didn't have facial expressions, but that's beside the point. "So, ready to get things started?" Blue asked. "Always am." Chaos said. Blue and Chaos mashed their claws together to merge them into one gigantic claw. Using the power of the chaos emerald Blue had, the duo temporally stopped time so they would have an opportunity to attack and destroy the fakes.

One by one, the heroes destroy all the black Chaos clones and were left to deal with the Chaos elites. "Ok, you fakes, the game is over." Blue said. "Oh, but the fun has just begun." The heroes looked to see Eggman floating down to earth in his Egg-mobile with Mecha Shadow and Bokkun on both sides of him. " You think that was all the clones I had? Wait until you see this." Eggman said as he pressed a button on his control console. All of a sudden, a second hidden storage and over a hundred more black clones dropped down to surround the heroes. "Oh man, there are way too many of them." Vector stated. "We had trouble just dealing with the last group. What are we going to do now?" Amy panicked. "I don't think there is anything we can do." Shadow admitted defeat. Hearing Shadow give up came as a great shock to the other and made them realize that if he could defeat them, no one can. "Ah, giving up are we? Good, black clones, attack!" Eggman ordered. But unknown to anyone, a silver metal claw reached out from the shadows of a nearby ally and slapped onto the ground. The metal claw unleashed a surge of electric energy that coursed through the ground and struck each and everyone of the clone. "What's happening?!" Eggman exclaimed. And one by one, all the clones exploded as the metal claw returned to the shadows.

"Ok, what just happened?" Knuckles questioned. "I don't know, but I'm not complaining." Blue said. "Looks like your all out of stooges, Eggman. Come along quietly and we promise we won't hurt you." Shadow said. "We won't?" Silver asked. "No, I was lying." Shadow whispered. "You may think you have defeated me, but I still have one final trick up my sleeve. Chaos elites, merge now!" Eggman ordered. Almost instantly, the six Chaos elites moved into a circle a performed a number of hand signs. Their bodies began to glow with their respective colors and reverted to their liquid forms and merged together. The single glowing liquid then shot straight up past the high buildings at began to take the shape of a familiar monster. Their new form looked exactly like Perfect Chaos, only it was made of six different colors. "Behold my greatest creation: Rainbow Chaos!" Eggman announced. There was a long period of silence before the heroes burst out laughing while the villains sweat dropped. "From now on, I'm coming up with the names." Mecha said with Bokkun nodding in agreement. "Stop laughing!" Eggman demanded. "Man, you always crack us up, Eggman." Sonic said. "You won't be laugh he's through with you. Rainbow Chaos, attack!" Eggman ordered. Rainbow Chaos sweat dropped at its name before carrying out it order.

As Rainbow Chaos charged forward, Jet arrogantly jumped in front and said "Leave this to me!" Jet grabbed his Wind Rider and flew towards the multi-colored monstrosity. "Jet!" Wave exclaimed as she and Storm jumped on their Gear to chase after him. Unfortunately for them, they didn't realize his power until a random fire hydrant shot a jet of water to knock them off their gear. "Maybe I should have told you that we can control water." Blue said. "You think?!" Rouge yelled. "Not a problem for me, I'll take him out in one shot!" Knuckles exclaimed as he charged forward. "Knuckles, you idiot!" Rouge yelled. Upon seeing Knuckles futile attack, Rainbow Chaos sniggered before whipping out a tentacle to launch Knuckles into the air. Knuckles flew direct over Rainbow Chaos as it opened its jaw to swallow him whole. Luckily, Tails came from out of nowhere and threw two handfuls of explosive rings into the monsters mouth. Rainbow Chaos closed its jaw as the ring exploded, have no effect whatsoever. But as Knuckles fell closer to the ground, Sonic made the save by catching him before he hit. "You know, knuckles head, you should really consider losing some weight." Sonic joked, but Knuckles didn't find it funny.

"Well, now what do we do?" Espio asked. Without anyone realizing it, Chaos spoke to Blue and Blue said. "Hey, sounds like Chaos has a plan." Blue said. "And just what would that be?" Shadow asked. "Trust me, you'll know." Blue said. Then suddenly, Chaos and Blue charged forward to Rainbow Chaos. "What are they up to?" Blaze questioned. Rainbow Chaos opened its mouth to launch a blast of chaos energy straight on the water beasts. "Hah! It's no use. They don't stand a chance." Eggman said. But just then, Chaos and Blue merged together to create a gigantic blue python. The Chaos python slithered past the blast and wrapped itself around Rainbow Chaos before biting its neck. Rainbow Chaos cried out in pain as Blue yelled "Attack! Now!" "You heard him!" Shadow exclaimed. Sonic and Shadow curled into their ball forms and Silver used his psychokinetic powers to lift the two off the ground and hold them together, one on top of the other. Silver gather half of his chaos in between his hand and lunged it at hedgehog balls "PSYCHIC SHOT!" the three shouted as one. The two balls became one and shot straight through the Rainbow Chaos as the Chaos python jumped off. Rainbow Chaos cried out before splitting back into its six separate forms.

The Six chaos elites fell to the ground, but it became apparent that only one survived. As Violet rose to her feet, she saw that her allies were nothing but puddles. "It looks like you and your army are finished, Eggman." Kumori said. "This isn't over yet. I'll be back. Mecha, take us out of here." Eggman ordered. Mecha focused all his energy and called out "CHAOS CONTROL!" In a flash, all the villains, including Violet, disappear with the Egg-Carrier III. "As expected, he ran away." Shadow said. "What a wuss." Storm said. "You have all done an excellent job." The heroes looked back to see the G.U.N. commander, surprisingly unharmed. "Commander. You're alive." Shadow said. "Yes. And thanks to you, everyone else is as well." The commander said. "Heh! No sweat." Sonic said. "I've noticed something. As a team, all of you are unbeatable. So I have decided to create a special force involving all of you. Together, we can surely stop Eggman." the commander said. "What do you say guys?" Silver asked. "Well, we have nothing better to do." Jet said and everyone seemed to agree with him. "Then it's settled from now on we are the Sonic Heroes!" Sonic exclaimed. "And why would we be called that?" Shadow asked. "Because I'm the leader." Sonic said simply. "HELL NO!!!" Everyone complained.

But while the heroes complained about the team name and who the leader was, the metal claws from earlier made its appearance again. "I can't believe it. Eggman not only stole my clone data, but he also activated my creation!" the figure exclaimed as bashed his claw into the wall. "Of course I have no choice. I must join Eggman before Nazo finds me. And that imbecile could help forward my plans. Look out Eggman..." the figure walked out into the sun to reveal none other then Metal Sonic. "...Metal's coming home! Mwahahaha!" Metal laughed manically.

* * *

**Heroes have come together and Metal makes his return. What are Metal's plans and why does Nazo want him? Stay tuned to find out.**

**Please, read and review.**


	4. Moving In: A Living Hell

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sonic characters, just the OC's

Chapter Four: Moving In: A Living Hell

Three days after the long and tiresome battle against Eggman's Chaos clone army and monstrous Rainbow Chaos, the citizens of Station Square were returning to their usual daily lives. While G.U.N. soldier made the repairs as usual, their commander was leading a top secret government project he called Project: Heroes. No one had the slightest clue what that met, but they figured it had something to do with the heroes of the Chaos battle that were suddenly packing up all their possessions and leaving the city. The last time they were seen was when they were boarding a special G.U.N. aircraft, waving good bye to the cheering crowd below. I wonder what their doing now?

"Can't this rust bucket move any faster?!" Sonic complained for the eighth time today. "Shut up, Sonic!" Knuckles yelled and punched Sonic across the face. Sonic growled in anger and jumping on Knuckles, starting their usual daily brawl. Shadow sighed and shook his head at the two imbeciles and their constant fighting. "Everyone is getting restless. How much longer until we reach our destination?" Shadow asked the commander. "It shouldn't be too long now." The commander replied. "Attention all passengers, we are have arrived at our destination and are now beginning our descent." The pilot announced over the loudspeaker. "Perfect timing." Shadow commented. "It's about time." Sonic said before receiving a fist in his jaw. The heroes quickly to their places as the G.U.N. aircraft descended down into a small clearing in the middle of an unknown forest. Upon landing, Sonic was the first to jump out and started running aimlessly around the area. "WOO-HOO! Finally!" Sonic cheered. "Does he ever stop?" Jet asked. "Not as for as long as I've known him." Tails said. "So where is this place you were talking about?" Kumori asked the commander. Sonic was enjoying his returned freedom until he suddenly ran into a secret base concealed in the trees. "Found it!" Sonic's muffled voice called. The other heroes sweat dropped.

"All right, everybody, this is it. Welcome to your new home." The commander said as slowly opened the base door. Everyone, with the exception of Shadow, stood waiting in excitement at what they would find inside. Unfortunately, their excitement was turned to major disappointment once the doors were fully opened. As the heroes walked inside, they found that thing were not as they hoped. Inside of fabulous luxury base of operations, they found a dim-lit, depressing, sewer house. On top of its bad lighting and depressing atmosphere, several floor tiles were missing, a few support beams were missing, and a few rats also lived here. "What the hell is this?!" Kumori cursed. "You can't really be serious." Jet said before stepping in a puddle of strangely colored slime. "EWW!" everyone said in disgust. "You are going to have your soldiers fix this, right?" Shadow asked. But when he asked, the aircraft suddenly took off with the commander on board. But not before dropping a ton of hardware supplies in front of them. "That cheapskate!" Vector screamed at the top of his lungs. "He really expects us to fix this whole place by ourselves?" Amy asked. "It would seem so. You guys go ahead and fix this place up. I'm going to have a little 'chat' with the commander." Shadow said before chasing after the aircraft. "Well, guess we ought to get to work." Blue said before stepping in another puddle of slime. "EWW!"

Omega started his work by setting up the foundation for the base. It was actually quite amazing that the whole place didn't fall down on them the second they stepped in. Omega placed a steel girder on the wall and retracted his claw and replaced it with a power drill. Omega drilled the girder in place and turned to pick up another one. But just as he was about to grab another girder, the pervious one suddenly fell over. Omega looked confused for a moment, but thought nothing of it and placed the girder back. He was about to reach for another one when the same girder fell again. Omega was becoming quickly frustrated and pounded the girder into the wall. Omega slowly turned around to pick up another girder. The previous one slowly starts to fall until Omega swiftly turns around and held his machine gun to the girder. Almost instantly, the girder stands back up and falls back into place. Omega felt proud of himself for his minor accomplishment. Well, that is until the girder fell on Omega's head. Out of anger, Omega fired his machine gun in random areas of the base. Once he calmed down, he felt a slight tap on his should and turned around. Omega then came face-to-face with Knuckles, Vector, and Storm; all covered in bullet marks, with angry looks in their eyes. Poor Omega.

"Ok, the foundation of the place is finally sturdy, no thanks to Omega." Wave said as she glared at the busted robot. Wave then pulled out a large blueprint from out of nowhere and opened it up to show to everyone else. "Ok, me and the squirt..." "I am not a squirt!" Tails interrupted. "Shut up! Anyway, we came up with an idea of what the place will look like when we're done. Since the foundation is done, we should get to work on reinforcing the roof." Wave said. "Got it!" Everyone shouted. Tails then picked up a small steel beam and Storm grabs a larger piece. When Tails and Storm turned to stare working, Tails piece knocks Wave off her feet and Storm's piece hits her in the face. The two hits flip Wave off the ground and cause her to land on her beak. "Wave, what are you doing down there?" Storm asked stupidly. "Oh, nothing. I just like lying on the floor on my beak." Wave said sarcastically. "That's not very health. You should pick up some new hobbies." Storm said, not realizing Wave's sarcasm. Wave jumped back to her feet at stared at the two with flames of anger in her eyes. "Uh, guys...run." Jet advised. Storm failed to understand what Jet meant and was suddenly whacked in the face by Wave's wrench

After suffering a significant amount of bruises from Wave, Storm and Tails landed on the roof to make the necessary repairs. Meanwhile, Rouge was looking over at the blue print when Kumori came in all excited. "Hey, look what I found." Kumori said. and from out of nowhere, Kumori pulled out a fine furnished table and placed it in between the two. "At least that cheapskate commander left us something useful." Kumori said. "Hey, Storm, look at this! What kind of idiot would use newspaper to patch a roof?!" Tails yelled from the roof. All of a sudden, Tails fell through the newspaper roof and landed on the new table, crushing in on impact. "Tails!" Rouge and Kumori yelled at the kitsune. "Hey, little buddy, where'd you go?!" Storm cried. Next thing they knew, Storm fell through the roof as well and landed directly on Tails. "Whoa! Awesome!" Storm cheered. "Uh...Storm." Kumori said to catch his attention. "Hey, girls. Have you seen Tails?" Storm asked. Rouge and Kumori pointed down and Storm followed the direction of their fingers to see Tails tattooed to his stomach. "Hey, Tails. What are you doing?" Storm asked stupidly. Rouge and Kumori sweat dropped at Storm's idiocy.

Down in the basement, Espio, Blue and, Jet were left with fixing the electrical problems with the base. "Ok...what do we do now?" Blue asked. According to Tails, we are supposed to connect the blue wire with the yellow wire to properly align the electricity throughout the base." Espio said smartly. "That doesn't sound too hard." Jet said as he opened the fuse box. Unfortunately, the second he opened the box, they were piled on by an avalanche of blue and yellow wires. "You were saying." Blue complained. "Look, it shouldn't be too hard. All we have to do is figure which is which." Espio said. "Then why don't you do it, genius." Jet mocked. "All right, I will." Espio said. Espio started diving under the pile of wires in search of which wire he was supposed to be looking for. "He's been in there way too long. I have to save him. If I don't make it back, tell Wave I, love her. And tell Storm, stay away from my stuff." Jet said before diving under. "Hey, don't leave me here alone!" Blue cried as he too dived under. Espio had no idea where he was or how long he had been in this electric mess. 'This taking too long. Might as well get this over with.' Espio thought as he pulled out a kunai from his cuff. Espio slowly pressed the sharp knife to a random wire and prayed to god he got it right. Back upstairs, Espio, Jet, and Blue's painful screams echoed through the base as the light returned to normal.

Silver was unfortunately stuck with janitor duty and was forced to clean the strange, unnatural slime on the floor. But Silver wasn't complaining. Silver just sat back and relax and used his psychokinetic powers to clean the mess for him. Just then, Amy came in with a giddy look in her eyes. "Hey, what's with you?" Silver asked curiously. "This place is so amazing. I mean sure it has some problems, but that nothing we can't fix. And that's not even the best part." Amy said. "What?" Silver asked. "There are only nine rooms." Amy said happily, much to Silver's confusion. "So?" Silver asked. "So...that means we all have roommates." Amy said. "Who's roommates?" Sonic asked as he walked in. "Sonic, don't you want to be my roommate?" Amy asked cutely. "Uh, no thanks. Hey Silver, what do you say we bunk together?" Sonic asked. "I say..." Silver trailed off when he noticed Amy pull out her Piko-Piko hammer in a threatening manner. "...I'm gonna go hide under the table." Silver said. "We don't have a table." Sonic said. Silver used his psychokinetic powers to repair the broken table and said "we do now." Before diving under it. Sonic looked confused for a moment before turning back to Amy, who quickly hid her hammer and gave an innocent smile. 'Oh boy.' Sonic thought.

Blaze was left in charge of catch the renegade mice that wander around the base. Being a cat, Blaze had a natural ability at catching mice. Blaze had disposed of all the mice, except for one. "Get back here!" Blaze yelled at the run away mice as they began a game of cat and mouse (no pun intended). The mouse somehow pulled a banana peel and left it for Blaze to slip on. Blaze slid on the peel and crash straight into the wall. The mouse gave a small chuckle. "The little sucker's laughing at me." Blaze said. Blaze dived at the mouse, only to have it slip through her fingers and run into its hole. "Gotcha now." Blaze said as she reached into the hole. The next second, a small snap was heard and Blaze yelped in pain. Blaze pulled out her hand and found a mouse trap attached to it. "Damn rodent." Blaze cursed. Blaze's highly sensitive ear heard a noise from above and looked up to see the air vent opening. The mouse showed its head from the vent and Blaze ignited her hands with her pyrokinetic powers in an attempt to burn the mouse. Unfortunately, the mouse somehow found a bowling ball and dropped on Blaze's head. The next thing she knew, Blaze was seeing stars.

The base was mostly finished, but thing between the heroes were getting rough. Cream and Vector were in charge of painting the base and the two were arguing which color to use. "I say green!" Vector exclaimed. "No! Orange is better!" Cream exclaimed. "Green!" "Orange!" the two continued to argue until Knuckles came up to them and said "Hey guys. "What!?" Vector and Cream screamed as they turned to him, accidentally covering him in paint. "What the?" Knuckles questioned. Knuckles now looked like some sort of red, green, and orange monster. And Charmy thought so too. "Monster!" Charmy yelled as he held his stinger up and charged at Knuckles. "Charmy! Wait!" Knuckles tried to talk sense to him, but it was all in vain. "Take this, you bad monster!" Charmy yelled as he proceeded to sting Knuckles. "AAH!" Knuckles screamed in pain. Vector and Cream stared at the mess they caused for a moment before slowly scurrying away. Knuckles finally grabbed a hold of Charm's stinger and stared at Cream and Vector with angry eyes. "Vector! Cream!" Knuckles yelled furiously. "Vector and Cream gave an audible gulp.

"Damn commander. Who does he think he is, leaving us with this mess?" Shadow complained as he returned to the base. But the moment he returned, he heard, what sounded to be, a fight coming from inside. "What the?" Shadow questioned as the opened the base doors. He was greeted by the sight of a nearly completed base and all of his friends arguing about something. "Ok, enough!" Shadow yelled at the top of his lungs. Everyone stop immediately and looked in the direction of Shadow. "Ok, what is going on?" Shadow asked. The next thing he knew, Shadow as barraged by the oncoming complaints. "QUIET!" Shadow yelled. Everyone was silent. "Listen, I know most of us don't get along very well. Some more then others. But the fact is, we're friends. We help each other in times of trouble. And if we can't work together for something as simple as this, then there is no hope for this team." Shadow said. Everyone took a moment to rethink what Shadow said and figured that he was right. "He's right, we're all friends. As long as we are together, there is nothing that can stop us." Silver said. "Now, let's get to work." Shadow said. everyone cheered and resumed their previous duties.

With the power of teamwork, everyone had finally completed their jobs (with the exception of Blaze) and were celebrating their success in their new kitchen. It was amazing how big their base was. it surprisingly not only had bedrooms, but it also had a training room, a giant laboratory and a hanger with a workshop. And the matter of roommates was settled shortly after by Shadow. Shadow was bunking with Sonic, Silver with Tails, Rouge with Knuckles, Amy with Kumori, Blaze with Cream, Jet with Storm, Espio with Blue, Vector with Charmy, and Wave had her own room while Omega rested in the workshop. "A toast to our new team and our new lives." Shadow said as he raised his glass to his friends. "Cheers!" everyone shouted. "And speaking of team, me and others came to a decision." Sonic said. "What decision?" Shadow asked. "Well, after the way you led us through the day, we have decided to make you leader of this team." Silver said. "Really?" Shadow asked in shock. "Really." Sonic confirmed. "Thanks guys. With this new team, nothing can bring us down." Shadow said.

* * *

Somewhere in an unknown location, the alarms of Eggman's new base blared just before an explosion could be seen. Out of the explosion, Mecha Shadow and Metal Sonic were locked in a heated battle. "You can't defeat me." Mecha stated as he dragged Metal to the ground. "Have you forgotten? I created you, meaning I know your weakness." Metal said as he placed his claw on Mecha's chest. In the next second, a surge of electric energy coursed through Mecha's body and shut him down. "Mecha!" Eggman cried out to his servant. But in a split second, Metal appeared in front of Eggman. "W-what do you want?" Eggman stuttered in fear. "Only one thing." Metal said. "To Eggman's surprise, Metal stood on one knee and bowed to Eggman. "To join you." Metal said, leaving Eggman suspicious. "Why would you want to do that?" Eggman asked. "We both know we can't defeat our enemies alone. Only by joining forces can we overcome them." Metal said. Eggman thought over what Metal had said. It was true that even with his clone army; they stood no chance against Sonic and his allies. He had no choice. "Alright, I accept. And together we will destroy that irritating hedgehog!" Eggman laughed evilly. 'fool.' Metal thought.

* * *

Somewhere in a dreary dimension, a lone grey castle stood in the middle of the barren wasteland. In the center of this castle stood Mephiles, Erazor Djinn, Black Doom, and the demon of evil, Nazo all gathered around a stone table. With a wave of his hand, Nazo summoned a three-sided chess board with twenty-six figures. One side contained the figures of the eighteen heroes; another held the figures of Eggman, Metal, Mecha, and Violet, while the last side had their own figures. "It would seem that Metal has joined his enemy in an attempt to escape us. Very clever." Black Doom commented. "It would also seem that all our enemies have joined together as well." Mephiles said, referring to the heroes. "I don't understand why we have waited this long. We should have crushed those little pests' ages ago!" Erazor yelled. "Calm your self, Djinn. All good things come in time." Nazo said calmly. "But he does have a point. We have been hiding our existence for far too long." Mephiles defended Erazor. "Your right. We have spent too much time chasing after Metal, we have completely forgotten about our true objective. It's time we made our selves know to the world." Nazo said with a spine chilling evil chuckles.

* * *

**Heroes and Villians alike have gather together for the ultimate war. But what does Nazo have planned and why do the Dark Rulers want from Metal. Stay tuned to find out.**

**Please, read and review**


	5. Feel the Burn

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sonic characters, just the OC's

Chapter Five: Feel the Burn

It's been over a week since the, as Sonic dubbed them, Sonic Heroes managed to sort their way through the chaos of moving in to their new home and, surprisingly, so far have faced yet to any trouble from Eggman. Needless to say, they were pretty bored. Jet, Tails, and Omega were sitting at the dinning room table, enjoying their morning breakfast, or in Omega's case, recharging. Sonic, Shadow, and their other teammates had left yesterday after receiving orders from the commander to calm down some natural disasters in far away places, leaving them to deal with the trouble in Station Square. "Hey guys." Silver yawned as he entered the room and sat at the table. Jet was about to eat a piece of toast until Silver used his psycho kinetic powers to levitate the toasted bread and place it in his mouth. "Hey! That's mine!" Jet exclaimed. "Well it's in my mouth now." Silver retorted. Jet then jumped on Silver's back and preceded to strange him.

While the emerald hawk tried to recover his lost breakfast from the grey hedgehog's stomach, a small white mouse made its way up the table and scurried across. "Heads up!" Tails warned the rest. All of a sudden, everyone at the table grabbed all the plates and silverware and lifted them up, just in time to avoid Blaze as she sliding across the table. "You won't get away from me this time!" Blaze yelled at the mouse. The mouse jumped off the table, quickly followed by the eccentric cat. "Gotcha!" Exclaimed as she held the mouse in her hand. But to her disappointment, the 'mouse' was just a bar of soap. A small squeaking laughter could be heard as the mouse ran back into its hole. Blaze ran up to the hole with an angered look on her face. "I swear I'll get you one of these days, Gary." Blaze said. Just then, the mouse named Gary crawled into the air duct above Blaze and dropped a three week rotten tomato on her head. "I really should have seen that coming." Blaze said to herself as she grabbed a towel to wipe the tomato off her head.

"You know, if you keep this up, you might end up killing yourself." Tails said as he took a sip of juice. "No! Not until I catch that monster!" Blaze screeched. "It's just a mouse." Tails said. "An evil mouse!" Blaze yelled. "Come on. How hard could it be to snatch a tiny rat?" Jet taunted. Jet was about to eat his second piece of toast until he noticed it was missing from his hand. "Silver!" Jet screeched. "It wasn't me." Silver said in the most honest manner possible. "Object located!" Omega stated as he pointed his claw to the other end of the room. There, on the living room table, was Gary nibbling at Jet's breakfast. "That rat has my breakfast!" Jet yelled. "You were saying." Blaze taunted back. "Get that pest!" Jet shouted. Jet and Blaze ran at both sides of the table and jumped to capture the mouse. Unfortunately, they weren't anticipating each other being there and crash their heads together, knocking them out. Gary laughed before jumping off the table and ran into his hole, taking Jet's breakfast along with it. "Somehow I just knew that was going to happen." Tails commented and Silver nodded his head in agreement.

* * *

Back at the dreary castle of the Dark Rulers, Nazo, Black Doom, and Erazor Djinn observed Blaze and Jet's antics through a mystical portal on the wall. Nazo and Erazor laughed their hearts out while Black Doom remained as an emotionless statue. "Man, those pathetic heroes sure are good for a laugh." Nazo chuckled. "Yeah, their better then most comedy's on TV." Erazor continued to laugh. "Enough of this! Don't you think we should be devising a way to get rid of those meddlesome pests before they cause us any trouble?" The agitated Black Doom questioned. "Calm down, Doom. You think I haven't already planned ahead? I have already sent Mephiles to retrieve a few items for me." Nazo explained. "And I have successfully found them." Mephiles said as he walked out of the shadows holding a gold and red bird in one hand and a burning flame in the other. "Well it's about time." Nazo complained. "Forgive me, my lord." Mephiles said as he placed the items on the table in front of Nazo. "What are you planning on doing with these?" Erazor asked. "Eggman uses science to create his minions, but I prefer a more...mystical approach." Nazo said. 

As Black Doom, Erazor Djinn, and Mephiles look on in wonderment, Nazo summoned a flame of blue chaos energy into his left hand, which quickly changed to a dark, sinister color. "Black Chaos: Dark Merge!" Nazo called out as he hurtled the dark flame to bird and the scorching flame. The dark chaos soon spread around the items and quickly grew at a rapid rate. When the flames disappeared, the items were replaced by a red anthro phoenix with golden wings and golden chest armor and wielded a blood red dagger. "Present yourself." Nazo commanded. "My name is Fenik and I only live to serve you, Lord Nazo." Fenik introduced himself as he bowed to Nazo. "I must say, that I quite impressive." Erazor complimented. "To be able to create a powerful creature from two insignificant objects. That's quite a feat." Black Doom said, equally impressed by Nazo's power. "Enough with compliments. Fenik, I have a mission for you." Nazo said. "Anything for you, my lord." Fenik said excitingly. "It's really quite simple. Destroy Station Square and everyone in it." Nazo commanded. "As you wish, my lord." Fenik bowed.

* * *

"Are you sure this will work?" Blaze asked her feathered friend. Jet was making some sort of trap in front of Gary's hole, which Tails predicted, wouldn't work. But, of course, Jet didn't listen. "Of course this will work. All we have to do is lure that dumb rat out with this." Jet held up a piece of cheese. "And then we'll drop the cage on him." Jet pointed to the small cage above them. "I don't know." Blaze said. "Come on, trust me." Jet said. "Uh...guys." Blaze and Jet looked over to see Silver with a curious look. "What?" they both asked. "What's holding that cage up?" Silver asked. "The ro-AAH!" Jet screamed as he found Gary gnawing at the rope. Before either Blaze or Jet had a chance to run, the small cage dropped on top of them and trapped them inside. Gary gave off a squeaky laugh before grabbing the cheese that Jet dropped and scurried back in its hole. 'I just knew that would happen.' Silver thought. 

Tails and Omega were in the new workshop, creating a retinal scanner for their secret storage room that Knuckles discovered four days ago (By dropping on his head). Then, the workshops viewing screen turned on to show the G.U.N. Commander on screen. "Greetings commander!" Omega said. "What's going on? Need us to handle another natural disaster?" Tails asked as he removed his goggles. "Not this time, Tails. This one is far from natural." The commander said. "What do you mean?" Tails asked. "There is a strange monster burning up the city. I need you and the rest of the heroes to take care of it." the commander instructed. "Yes, sir!" Tails and Omega saluted before running out of the workshop. "Guys, you won't believe..." Tails trailed off when he enter the living room and was greeted by the most unusual sight. Apparently, Silver was attempting to pull Jet and Blaze out of the small cage by their tails, earning him a slap from Blaze. "A little help here?" Silver asked "This could take a while." Tails said before he and Omega walked over to help them.

Station Square was under attack and people were scream for their lives. The city was set aflame as with each step Fenik created a small flame. Fenik spread his wings to shoot out a barrage of gold feathers to the surrounding build to set them on fire on contact. "That's right! Burn!" Fenik evilly laughed. But to the monster bird's surprise, the flames of destruction he created slowly dimmed and burned out. "Huh? What's going on?" Fenik questioned. "Are you the one causing this trouble?" Fenik turned around to find the heroes lined up to face him. By the way how she held her hands to the burning building, Fenik guessed it was Blaze using her pyrokinetic powers to stop his destruction. "Who are you and why are you doing this?" Jet asked. "My name is Fenik and I come here under the command of my master." Fenik informed. "Master?" Silver questioned silently. Fenik the pulled out two black balls from his wings. "Let see if that three-eyed freak was true to his word." Fenik said as he smashed the ball into the ground and the broken shards formed into several Black Warriors. "Black Arms? What are they doing here?" Tails questioned. "I don't know, but let's fight now and ask questions later." Silver said. "Attack!" Fenik commanded and the Black Warriors followed.

The battle spread out along the abandoned street as Silver faced off against Fenik while the others handled the Black Warriors. Blaze used her incredible acrobatics the push herself of one of the Black Warrior's should and flip over its head. While in midair, Blaze turned around and sideswiped the Black Warrior's head. As she landed, Blaze's highly sensitive ear heard the sound of footsteps behind her and dropped down on her back. When she fell to her back, Blaze swiftly pushed her feet up to kick two Black Warriors chins and knocked them out. Blaze quickly jumped back on to her feet, only to come face-to-face with five other Black Warriors. "You must be joking. Is this all you got?" Blaze mocked. The Black Warriors march to Blaze with the black swords held high as a threat, but Blaze paid no attention to it. Blaze used her pyrokinetic powers to ignite her hand and kicked off the ground towards the Warriors. Blaze twirled into a tornado of flames and entrapped the Warriors inside. When the tornado diminished all that was left of the Black Warriors and was giant puddle of black ooze.

"Whoa! Watch it!" Jet exclaimed as he jumped back just in time to avoid one of the Black Warrior's swords. Black Warrior reeled its sword from out of the ground and attempted to take another swing at the emerald bird. Luckily, Jet ducked down and slid under the aliens legs and kicked his butt...literally. Jet chuckled as the Black Warrior was sent flying and had its head caught in an exposed pipeline. "That was too easy! Any other suckers?!" Jet challenged. Unfortunately for him, over twenty Black Warriors accepted his challenge and surrounded him. "Uh...anyone in for a game of go fish?" Jet said nervously. The Warriors jumped the poor bird. "Guess not!" Jet screeched. Unknown to them, Jet secretly snuck out from under them and watched as they beat each other up. "Man, bad guys fall for that every time." Jet chuckled. Jet walked up to the dumb pile of aliens and held his fan back like a baseball bat. Jet reeled back his fan and delivered a monstrous swing. It was a line drive to center. It's going...going...GONE! An advertisement screen lit up saying "HOME RUN!"

Tails was standing on top of Omega's head, throwing as many explosive rings as possible, while Omega used his machine guns on the surrounding aliens. "Good work, Omega! We got them on the ropes!" Tails cheered as he reached into his backpack for another handful of rings. Unfortunately for the kitsune, Tails had inadvertently forgot to create more explosive rings because he was so busy repairing the base. "Uh...Omega...I'm kinda out of rings." Tails said nervously. "Situation confirmed! Do not worry; I will keep them at bay!" Omega stated as he shot another Black Warrior in the head. "Yeah, but what happens when you run out of..." Omega ran out of ammo. "...Ammo?" Tails said with a deadpan expression on his face. Seeing as how their prey was out of ammo, the Black Warrior moved in for the kill. "What do we do now?" Tails asked. Omega ignored the Black Warriors for a moment as he retracted his machine guns to replace them with his claws. And before anyone of them realized it, Omega shot up and opened the secret panels in his arms to reveal his hidden missiles. "Uh oh." The Black Warriors said before they were blasted away.

"PYCHIC SCREW!" Silver yelled as he created typhoon of psychic energy. Fenik, unfortunately, raised his red dagger to the hedgehogs attack and surprisingly absorbed it. "What the? What happened" Silver questioned. "My blood dagger is no ordinary dagger. It was forged from pure red chaos steel." Fenik snickered. "And my abilities don't work on anything made of pure chaos." Silver realized. "Exactly, now...DIE!" Fenik screeched as he spread his wings to unleash a barrage of red feathers. 'Gotta think fast!' Silver thought. Silver quickly summoned up a barrier of psychic energy and knocked the feathers away from him. "I believe these belong to you." Silver said as he used his psychokinetic powers to levitate the feathers and hurtle them back at red bird monster. Fenik just smirked as the deadly feathers came closer. "Using my own attack against me, you must be joking." Fenik said. And in a burst of blinding speed, Fenik used his dagger to cut through the feathers and halt the attack. "It looks like you'll have to come up with something better." Fenik laughed.

"Silver, are you ok." Blaze asked as she and the rest of the heroes moved in closer to him. "Yeah, but I don't know what to do. This guy is unlike anything we have ever faced before." Silver said. 'This guy must have some kind of weakness.' Jet thought. "If you guys are just going to stand there then burn!" Fenik screech as he once again fired an endless barrage of golden feathers. Silver and the others quickly jumped away, with the exception of Omega, to avoid the assault. Jet quickly jumped behind a fallen piece of rubble and carefully watched Fenik as he fought against his friends. 'This uses his feathers to create fires.' Jet thought as he watched the feathers burn Omega's steel body, but did no damage. 'And even if we avoid those feathers, there is still the problem with that dagger.' Jet thought. He watched as Blaze hurtled a fireball at Fenik, but the bird rebounded it with his dagger. Suddenly, Jet had an idea. 'That's it!' Jet thought. As Silver slowly backed away, Jet suddenly pulled Silver close "What are you doing?" Silver asked. "Listen, I have an idea." Jet then whispered his plan to Silver.

"Hmm. Where did that damn rat go?" Fenik asked himself. "I'm a hedgehog, not a rat." Fenik turned around to find Silver standing with a smirk on his face. "What's wrong, aren't you going to burn me?" Silver mocked him. "Silver, what are you doing!" Blaze screamed. "Relax, Blaze. We got this." Silver reassured her. "Alright, get ready to die!" Fenik screeched as he stretch his wings and launched his feathers again. But, to Fenik's surprise, his stopped and fell halfway and that they were...green. "What the?!" Fenik panicked when he noticed that his golden feathers were now green. "Do these feathers make me look fat?" Jet asked his friends. Fenik noticed that Jet had replaced his precious golden feathers with his own. "What have you done?!" Fenik yelled. "Spoiled your barbecue." Jet mocked. "No matter, I still have my dagger." Fenik proclaimed as he held his dagger high. But unfortunately, Blaze suddenly launched a fireball and knocked the dagger away. "Uh oh." Fenik said. "Uh oh is right. PSYCHIC SCREW!" Silver called out his signature attack. Without his dagger, Fenik had no way of avoiding the attack. Fenik was caught in Silver devastating attack and utterly destroyed.

Silver and the others returned to their base after their victory, but it didn't seem like the right time to celebrate. For some reason, everyone couldn't shake off the feeling that they were missing something. "I don't understand. How could the Black Arms be here? I though only Black Doom could create them." Tails said. "Well, maybe he did." Jet said. "That's impossible. Shadow killed him a long time ago." Tails informed them. "Just who is this Black Doom guy anyway?" Blaze asked. He was the leader of the Black Arms. Here let me show you." Tails said as he walked up to his computer. After pressing a series of buttons, the screen showed a picture of Black Doom. "This is Black Doom." Tails informed him. "Kinda creepy, don't think, Silver?" Jet chuckled. No response. "Silver?" Jet turned around to see Silver literally quaking in his boots. 'That's the guy who helped me fight Iblis and Solaris. That's Black Doom.' Silver thought, remembering his encounters with Black Doom. It became obvious to Silver that Black Doom was alive. But the question was, how?

* * *

Nazo and Black Doom were watching the entire thing from within the center of their castle. "It would appear that Silver realizes your existence. This could be trouble." Nazo said with a smirk. "It would also appear that your creation is a failure." Black Doom replied. "Exactly as planned." Nazo said. "I don't understand." Black Doom said. Nazo waked floated down from his high white chair to land in front of the chess board with the figures. "Fenik was not created to defeat them. On the contrary, he was created to test them." Nazo said. "Test them?" Black Doom questioned. "Yes, I wanted to see how powerful they truly are." Nazo said as he stared down at the hero's side of the board. He then picked up Silver's figure and moved it up one space. "It would seem that this game has gotten a bit more interesting." Nazo said wit an evil grin.

* * *

**The heroes have successfully faced their first challange, but Nazo is not finished just yet. What does he have planned for the heroes. Stay tuned to find out.**

**Please, read and review.**


	6. Metal's Power

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sonic characters, just the OC's

Chapter Six: Metal's Power

High above the southern Pacific Ocean, the Egg-Carrier III aimlessly wandered across the shining blue sea. Inside the Egg-Carrier, Mecha Shadow stood at the side of a pod similar to the ones Eggman used to create the black Chaos clones and closely examined the status of the creature inside. "Hmm. Everything seems to be operating at maximum efficiency. I guess it's time we let you out." Mecha said. Mecha walked over the control panel in front of the pod to pull down a random lever. The water inside the pod drained out from the sides and slowly opened up. When the pod was fully open, the fully recovered Violet stepped out from inside. "It seems you have made a complete recovery, Violet." Mecha said. "What about my brothers?" Violet asked. "Blue still remains alive, but Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, and Indigo were destroyed after the battle." Mecha informed her. Violet held her head down in sorrow, but her eyes showed deep hatred. Why was it that Blue remained alive while her brothers paid the price. "Come, Metal has called for us to meet him at the command center." Mecha said before exiting the room. "Metal?" Violet questioned but reluctantly follows the black mech.

Violet followed Mecha to the Egg-Carriers command center where she found Eggman and the annoying pest, Bokkun. "Hi Violet!" Bokkun screech in his most obnoxious voice. Violet had to summon up every ounce of her will power not to kill the little freak. "Calm down there, Violet. My drone just finished cleaning this place up and I don't want anymore messes." Eggman said. "It still won't help us get out of the mess we are currently in." Violet glanced around for any sign of where the voice may have come from. Then all of a sudden, Metal Sonic dropped down in the center of the group and Violet appeared to be the only one shaken by his sudden appearance. Violet could only guess that this was Metal that Mecha spoke of. "What do you mean, Metal?" Eggman asked. "We are running out of Chaos DNA. If we don't do something soon, we won't be able to produce any more black clones." Metal informed them. "So what do we do? It's not like we can just go up to Chaos and ask for his DNA. We don't even know where he is." Violet said. "True, but what about that one clone, Blue. He is the only clone that is made from the exact DNA of the real Chaos." Metal suggested. "What an excellent suggestion, Metal. And I just happen to the perfect thing to draw him out." Eggman said.

Upon Eggman's words, the door to the commander center opened to reveal the last thing Metal would ever expect. "My mechs!" Metal exclaimed in shock. It was true; the newcomers were the red, pink, green, and purple copied mechs Metal created during his previous attack (from my previous story). "Yes, I have reconstructed them so that they will be able to match the powers of those meddling heroes." Eggman said. "Great. With them, we're sure to capture Blue." Violet said. 'This is unexpected but it will prove useful to my plans.' Metal thought. "Uh...Eggman do you mind if I ask you a favor?" Metal requested. "And what would that be?" Eggman asked. Eggman didn't need to know that whatever Metal would ask for, it would surely assist him in his plans to defeat the heroes.

* * *

Back at the hero's base, Amy was making some arrangements to their new home, which was really stressing Sonic and Shadow out. "Maybe a little to the left." Amy instructed. Amy, while on her weekly shopping spree, had acquired a white couch that she thought would look perfect for their home. Unfortunately, Sonic and Shadow were stuck doing the arrangements. Sonic and Shadow moved to the left as to Amy's instructions and set the couch down with a sigh of relief. "Thank god that's over." Shadow commented. "You know, know that I think about it, it looks much better to the right." Amy said. Sonic and Shadow groaned and proceed to follow Amy's instructions...again. "Hahaha, they sure got their hands full, huh?" Blue chuckled along side Silver. But Silver didn't find it appropriate to laugh at the moment. The thought of Black Doom still living haunted the grey hedgehogs mind and fear at might he might do next. "And perfect." Amy said as Sonic and Shadow set the couch down. "This the same place where we started." Shadow complained. "I know, but it looks much better this way." Amy said. Sonic groaned and collapse, face first, into the couch. 

But before Sonic even had a chance to finally relax, Bokkun suddenly flew in and landed in front of Sonic. "Oh no, not you again." Sonic complained. "how did you find this place?" Shadow questioned. "I don't know, but I have a message for you from Metal." Bokkun said. "Metal?" Sonic said, surprised to hear from Metal again. Bokkun reached into his tiny bag and pulled out a wide screen TV. "How does he do that?" Blue asked. Bokkun turned on the TV to reveal Metal Sonic, much to everyone's surprise. "Greetings, my loathsome copy. You must be quite surprised to see me again. Anyway, I have a challenge for you." Metal said. "A challenge?" Sonic questioned. "Me and a few friends of mine wish to challenge your team to an all out battle. And if you don't accept, I will permanently cut the electrical power from the city." Metal threatened. "But the humans need that power in order to survive." Shadow said. "Meet us at the location of our first battle and don't be late." Metal said before the TV shut off. "That was interesting." Blue commented. "Wait! There's more." Bokkun said. "Huh?" everyone said seconds before the TV blew in their faces. "Hahahaha!" Bokkun laughed and flew away. "That is one weird robot." Amy commented as she shook the soot out of her quills. "So, where is the place of your first battle?" Silver asked. Sonic turned to them and said "Never Lake."

* * *

Never Lake, the occasional home of the Little Planet and its legendary time stones. The little planet only appeared once a year and today was that day. Metal stared vacantly at the Little Planet as he memories of the place returned to him. How could he ever forget that day, three years ago? He was sent here through the power of the time stones by his creator to ensure the defeat of Sonic. He could never forget the defeat he suffered at the hands of Sonic. But, in a strange way, Metal was happy for his defeat. When Sonic destroyed his metallic copy, he destroyed Metal's obedience chip and set him free from Eggman's control. It was thanks to Sonic that he was able to become strong. "Sonic, you saved me from and eternity of enslavement. But, that does not mean you will win." Metal said to himself. Just then, Mecha chaos controlled in front of Metal. "Well?" Metal asked. "The mission was a success." Mecha replied. "Good, now let us join our allies." Metal said before he and Mecha disappeared via chaos control. 

The five heroes finally reached their destination to find Metal leaning against a stone pillar with Mecha Shadow, and Violet by his side. "You're here. You must be in a hurry to die. What do you say we end this?" Metal said. "Fine by me." Sonic said as he charged at Metal. Sonic jumped into the air and curled into a ball to perform his homing attack. Sonic knew that Metal could block it, but for some reason, Metal didn't move an inch. Metal just stood there as he was hit full force by Sonic and smashed into the stone pillar. "What's wrong? Starting to rust?" Sonic joked. "Ha-ha-ha. You fool. I was merely testing your power to see how strong you have become since we last met. Apparently, you haven't changed at all." Metal said as he pried himself from the wall. "Oh yeah!" Sonic exclaimed as he curled again to perform his spin dash attack. Unfortunately, Metal predicted this and suddenly conjured a barrier of electricity around him. Sonic crashed into the electric barrier and was thrown back in shock, literally. "What the?" Sonic questioned. "I am different from when we last met. I trained myself and was to obtain my own original ability. And with it, I will defeat you." Metal said as a surge of electricity coursed through his body.

Shadow stood against his metallic copy as he tried to figure out a plan of action. 'I don't know what this guy can do. It would be safe to attack from a distance.' Shadow thought. "CHAOS SPEAR!" Shadow called out his signature technique. As over ten yellow arrows proceeded to attack, red versions of the arrow formed around Mecha as he called out "CHAOS SPEAR!" the two individual attacks collided with each other and cancelled themselves out. "Somehow, I just knew that was coming. "Just as Metal was created from the DNA of Sonic, I was created from your DNA, Shadow." Mecha said. "What! You were created from my DNA! But how?!" Shadow shouted in surprise. "Metal and I are bio-mechanical beings. Our abilities are created from those whose DNA we absorb. Allow me to demonstrate." Mecha said. Mecha gathered a large amount of red chaos in his hands and brought them together to form one large arrow. "No way." Shadow said in disbelief. "CHAOS LANCE!" Mecha called out as he launched the arrow in Shadow's direction. Luckily, Shadow's super speed gave him the boost he needed to avoid the assault. "It's like fighting a mirror. This is going to be trouble." Shadow mumbled.

"You're mine! PSYCHIC SCREW!" Silver shouted his signature attack. Unfortunately, since Violet was made of pure chaos, it simply passed through her. "Idiot." Violet said. Violet extended her arm out to Silver to knock him away and crash into a nearby boulder. "The boy keeps forgetting that I am made of pure chaos. His psychokinetic power can't affect me." Violet said. "I'll show you!" Violet looks up behind her and catches the sight of Amy prepared to swing her hammer down. "Pathetic." Violet comments. As Amy swings her hammer down, a hand suddenly grows out of Violets back and catches the hammer with no problem. "What?" Amy questions. "Fool, my abilities are far superior to any of my brothers." Violet said. Violet forms a black swirl mark on one of her claws as she swings around to face Amy. Violet slaps her claw onto Amy's forehead, leaving the swirl mark on her forehead. "CHAOS SEAL!" Violet shouts. All of a sudden, a wave of pain throughout her body and knocks her out. "Imbeciles." Violet commented.

"Not bad, sis. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to beat you down for that." Blue said. "If the real Chaos couldn't defeat me, what makes you think you can?" Violet questioned. "Because I'm different." Blue stated. Violet and Blue charge simultaneously and lock with each others claws. Violet attempts to kick at Blue's head, but Blue pulls his head back and watches Violet flip in the air. Blue attempts to punch the airborne Violet, but she quickly catches herself and gave a roundhouse kick to the side, which Blue blocked with his arm. "Not bad." Violet complimented. "Same to you." Blue returns as he pushes away. "This is taking too long. Time to end this." Violet says as she forms the swirl mark again. "Yes, lets." Blue said. as Violet charges forward, she did not realize that Blue secretly held the red chaos emerald behind his back until it was too late. "CHAOS CONTROL!" Blue shouts. Just as Violet was about to land her target, Blue disappears into thin air. "Where are you?" Violet questions. "Where you least expect me." Blue's voice echoed. and before she could even realize what had happened, Blue suddenly popped up out of the ground and delivered a striking blow to Violet's head. Violet laid unconscious as Blue said "I really owe Knuckles for that one."

Sonic was tossed back a good five yards as he was, once again, struck by Metal's newly acquired powers. "They say you can run fast then the speed of sound. But can you run fast then the speed of light?" Metal said as he shot out another lighting bolt. "Whoa!" Sonic exclaims as he barely dodges the attack. "Alright, Metal, if that's the way you want to play, then fine by me." Sonic said. Sonic quickly jumps to his feet and once again charges at Metal. "The idiot never learns." Metal said as he activates his electrical barrier again. Sonic quickly noticed this and jumps back just in time to avoid. 'great, how am I supposed to get past that? I mean, I can move as fast as the wind, but...wait. wind! That's it!' Sonic cheered inside his head. "Hey, Metal, I learned a few new tricks since three years ago. Let me show you one." Sonic said as he held his hand out. Sonic gathers and molds a vast amount of blue chaos into the form of a sphere. "Take this!" Sonic yelled as he charged at Metal's barrier. Metal figured the barrier would stop him, but Sonic's attack was so strong that it broke through the barrier. "Impossible." Metal said. "SONIC WIND!" Sonic called out and plunged his chest armor. Metal was hurled back by the attack and crashed into a nearby mountain.

"Hah!" Sonic boasted. Metal seemed on the verge of permanent shut down until he activated the data he gained from Blue to heal his wound. "Not bad. You posses a signature technique. Just another thing we have in common." Metal said as he pulled himself out of the mountain. "Now, let us see which is superior." Metal challenged. Sonic once again gather and molded his chaos to take it spherical form. Metal held out his claw and gather a vast amount of electrical energy into his palm, covering his entire claw. "Now, let us see who the true master is!" Metal yelled as he and Sonic simultaneously charge to one another. As the two came close, they pushed their attacks forward to collide with each other. "SONIC WIND!" "METAL SURGE!" The two called out their attacks. The force of the collision was so powerful, it sent everyone, and I mean everyone, flying. But Sonic and Metal suffered the greatest. Since they were closer, they both felt the full force of the attack and were thrown back over thirty feet, completely knocked out. Sonic could only see a black blur in front of him before everything went dark.

"Do you think he's ok?" Sonic could hear Amy's concerned voice. "Don't worry, he's just fine." He could hear Silver as well. Sonic managed to muster all his strength to open his eye. "What happened?" Sonic asked. "Sonic! You're ok!" Amy cried as she proceeded to hug him. "OW!" Sonic screamed in pain. "Sorry." Amy apologized as she got off. "No problem." Sonic assured her. "You had us pretty worried there." Blue said. "What happened to Metal? Sonic asked. "We don't know. They last thing we saw was Mecha and Violet retreating with Metal." Shadow explained. "Yeah, and for some reason, Mecha clawed me and then just ran off." Blue said. "It doesn't make sense. What are they up to?" Shadow questioned. Everyone was just as confused with Metal and Mecha's motives as Shadow. What ever it was that they were planning, it was obvious that it was no good for them.

* * *

"Well, Metal, it would seem that you have taken quite a beating." Eggman chuckled at Metal battered form sitting against the wall. Metal Sonic had woken from his temporary shut down moments ago and was using Blue's data to repair his damages. "HA-HA! Metal got his butt kicked!" Bokkun taunted. With a rush of anger, Metal delivered a swift knockout punch to Bokkun and smashed him into the wall. Unfortunately, just that one hit sent painful spark coursing through his arm. "Augh! That hedgehog. I swear I'll kill him!" Metal swore. Just then, Mecha and Violet walked into the room and bowed before Eggman. "Good news, Eggman. thanks to the DNA I ripped from Blue, we are now able to produce more black clones." Mecha reported. "Excellent! You have proved to be a valuable asset, Mecha." Eggman praised. Metal could take anymore of this worshipping and slowly got up to walk out of the room. Just then, something hit Violet. "Hey, Eggman, what did Metal ever do with those mechs." Violet asked. "You know, I'm really not sure." Eggman said honestly. 'Whatever it is, it must have something do with those items he asked me to retrieve from that planet. What is he up to?' Mecha questioned his mind. 

In the lower corridors of the Egg-Carrier III, Metal walked up to a blank wall and scanned the corridors for any sign of others. When he found none, Metal pressed his hand to the wall and opened it to reveal a secret chamber. Once inside the chamber, Metal came face to face with his five loyal mechs. "It is too early to reveal my plans to Eggman just yet. But if I am to complete my plans, I must tell him. Soon, my loyal followers, you will no longer be empty shells of scrape. No longer will you be mindless, faceless machines. When I am through with you, you shall take your rightful place in this world and together we shall destroy our loathsome copies once and for all." Metal speech to his five 'followers'. Metal pulled out a small brown bag from behind his back and dumped the contents in his hand. Now in the palm of his hands were seven miniature gemstone that held a slight resemblance to the chaos emeralds. "And with the power of the time stones, my plan is now one step closer." Metal chuckles "You better watch out, Nega. Because your creation is coming home." Metal said with an insidious evil laugh.

* * *

**Metal is planning something. The question is, what? Why does he need the time stones and who is this Metal's creator? Stay tuned to find out.**

**Please, read and review.**


	7. Team Virtex

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sonic characters, just the OC's

Chapter Seven: Team Virtex

Deep in the heart of Station Square, a lone building stood that housed the newest group in town. Inside, sitting at his desk, was Amy's older brother, Recter Rose. _'Hello, my name is Recter Rose. You may remember me from my battle against Metal Sonic. As you can tell, a lot of things have changed since then.' _Recter narrated. During his narrations, a new character entered the room. The new person was a nineteen year-old grey wolf with black marks over his eyes. He wore a black, sleeveless gi with a grey belt, black sandals, and a samurai sword strapped in the back of his belt. "Recter, have you seen Raine?" the wolf asked. _'That's Howl, my best friend. He's a skilled swordsman from the west. In fact, he even created his own sword style.' _"Nope, haven't seen her anywhere." Recter replied. "That girl really worries me." Howl mumbled. "Recter!" a scream came from down the hall. All of a sudden the door burst open to reveal an excited Seven year-old white butterfly with ocean blue wings. She wore a simple red shirt, light blue jacket, red shorts, and a pair of red sneakers. _'That's Raine, my adoptive little sister. She may be young, but she's a genius at medicine. She even discovered the cure for the common cold.'_

"What is it Raine?" Recter asked. "It's the phone. Someone wants to talk to you." Raine said as she held the phone to the red hedgehog. Recter took the phone from Raine and said "Hello?" "Hello, is this Team Virtex, the mercenary group?" the voice questioned. "Yeah, that's us." Recter answered. "What are do you charge for your services?" the voice questioned. "That depends. We categorized jobs from lost pets to assassination. We cahrge depending on the difficulty of the job." Recter explained. "I want your team to be bodyguards for a rare artifact." The voice said. "Anything we need to know?" Recter asked. "The artifact is a chaos emerald and we fear that people like Eggman will try to steal it tonight. I need you to guard it until the G.U.N. commander's escorts arrive to pick it up." The voice explained. "No problem, we'll be right there." Recter said as he hung up the phone. "Alright, we have a job!" Raine cheered. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Raine." Howl commented. "No worries, this job will be a cinch." Recter smirked.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Dark Ruler's dimension, Nazo and Mephiles were looking through the viewing portal as the human workers transported the purple chaos emerald into the museum. "Idiotic humans, believing they can keep the emerald from us." Nazo commented. "How will you plan to precede, Nazo." Mephiles questioned. Nazo snapped his fingers, then all of a sudden, then walls opened around them to reveal over a hundred canisters containing a different item inside. "Ah, so many choices, so little time." Nazo said while trying to make a decision. Just then, one of Mephiles' dark birds swooped in through the window and absorbed itself into Mephiles' back. "What's the news?" Nazo asked. "It would appear that the owner has called in a group of mercenaries to guard the chaos emerald. Some group called Team Virtex." Mephiles' recalled the bird's memories. "Team Virtex, huh? In that case, I know just the thing." Nazo said with a sinister smile. 

Nazo raised his hands to call forth a canister with a Japanese headband and a canister filled with ooze from Mephiles' own body. Nazo summoned the black flame in his hand and called out "Black Chaos: Dark Merge!" Nazo hurtled the black flame to crush the canisters and envelope the items within. The flames grew larger until a new monster stepped out from inside. The monster was a purple ooze ninja with two swords strapped to its back. "Present yourself." Nazo commanded. The oozing ninja honorably kneeled to Nazo and said "I am Kensu. I live only to serve the great and powerful Lord Nazo." Kensu introduced himself. "Do you really think he can stand up against those three alone?" Mephiles asked. "Who said the he was going alone." Nazo said. "What do you mean?" Mephiles asked. "Nazo made no reply, only sitting there with a sadistic look on his face.

* * *

Later that day, Team Virtex arrived at the Station Square museum as the sun slowly went down. Upon their arrival, they met up with the curator in the front of the museum. "Are you the one who called us?" Recter asked. "Yes, it is good to see that you have arrived on time." The curator said. "Looks like the sun is about to go down. It would be best if you would head home now." Howl suggested. "Yes, that would be best. I do hope that things will be ok." The curator said with concern. "It'll be no problem now that Team Virtex is on the job!" Raine cheered. "Come back down to Earth, Raine." Howl said as he pulled the excited girl down by her wings. "Ok, but just be sure not to break any of the other priceless artifacts inside." The curator said. "Not a problem." Recter reassured him. Feeling safe leaving the team, the curator walked away towards home. "Ok, everyone got their lights?" Recter asked. Raine held out her flashlight and Howl held up...an oil lamp? "Howl, get with the times." Recter said as he tossed an extra flashlight to the technological challenged wolf. "Ok guys, let's get started." Recter said. 

Recter, Raine, and Howl separated to go three different ways. Recter remained with the chaos emerald, while Raine took the left wing and Howl took the right. Before splitting up, Recter handed each of them a radio receiver that they wore around their necks for quick communication. "Man, this is getting boring." Recter complained into his receiver. "Toughen up, Recter. It won't be too much longer until this is over." Howl said. "But if this keeps up, then our pay will be cut." Raine said. "Oh man, she's right!" Recter exclaimed. "All you guys ever think about is money. There are more important things, like honor." Howl said. "Honor doesn't pay the bills, Howl." Recter said. Just then, a slow eerie creak could be heard coming from the entrance door. "Hold up, I thought I heard something." Recter said. "Be careful." Raine said. Recter slowly made his way to the entrance and reached out to the door. Once his hand was firmly placed on the handle, Recter whipped the door open to find...nothing. "(Sigh) probably just the wind.' Recter said. But the minute the red hedgehog turned, a silver fist collided with his face and knocked him to the wall.

"Recter? Recter, what's going on?!" Howl shouted into the receiver. Just then, one of the rare Chinese vases was thrown at him and he quickly caught it to set it down. In a split second, over ten vases were thrown at him, but he managed to safely secure each and every one of them. "You much faster then you look." Howl looked to the shadows the watch Kensu make his appearance. "And you would be?" Howl asked. "My name will be of no importance in a moment." Kensu said as he draws his swords. Anticipating the challenge, Howl drew his sword and held it to the ninja monster. They stood, waiting for the first move to be made. Finally, Howl moved his foot and the two instantly jumped at each other. Metal clashed against metal as the two were locked in a stalemate. "Not bad. You were able to block my initial attack. But your form is weak. I can easily maneuver around this." Kensu said. True to his word, Kensu he pushed swords down to bring Howl's sword with it. Having absolutely no defense, Howl was unable to avoid Kensu's knee as it bashed against his face.

"Recter, Howl? Oh, I hope they are ok." Raine said with concern. "I think the one you should be worrying about is yourself." Raine turned completely around to come face to face with Mephiles. "AAH!" Raine screamed as she jumped back. "CHOAS SPEAR!" Mephiles called as he sent a single black arrow. Raine was quick to dodge the initial attack, but was unfortunately grazed to the side. Raine whimpered as she clutched her side. "This is too easy." Mephiles said. Just then, Raine pulled out a vial of yellow liquid and rubbed it on her side. To Mephiles' surprise, the wound instantly healed in seconds. "Impossible!" Mephiles exclaimed. Raine took at advantage of Mephiles' temporary shock and pulled out a vial of silver powder. "Take this!" Raine shouted as she threw the vial at Mephiles. Unfortunately, Mephiles instantly shattered the vial with his claw, covering him in the powder. "It's over." Mephiles said. But before he could even attack, Mephiles clutched his stomach as he felt his insides burning. "What is this?" Mephiles questioned. "That powder I threw was a stomach virus." Raine explained. 'This girl, she can not only heal wounds, but she can also create diseases. That's it, no more holding back.' Mephiles thought.

"Who are you?" Recter asked as he stood up. "The names Nazo and I'll be taking that emerald off your hands." Nazo said as he walked over to the chaos emerald. As he reached out to the emerald, his hand was instantly stopped as Recter grabbed him by the wrist. "You're not going anywhere." Recter said. "And who's going to stop me?" Nazo smirked. "Me." Recter proclaimed as he tossed a punch to Nazo. Nazo figured he was weak and made no effort to move. Big mistake. The initial punch not only knocked Nazo off his feet, but it also sent him crash through the wall. Nazo walked through the hole in the wall with a look of surprise and anger. "But how? That kind of monstrous strength only belongs to the echidnas. Unless..." Nazo trailed off. "Unless I can use chaos too." Recter confirmed Nazo's beliefs. "Interesting. You are able to gather up a maximum amount of chaos into your fist and then release it in an instant. That is impossible, even for me. I have a feeling I no longer need to hold back." Nazo smiled, finally receiving the challenge he's been waiting for.

"If you think you can stop me with that weak fighting ability, then you'll be an easy kill." Kensu laughed as Howl slowly got back to his feet. "You actually thought I was being serious? I was only testing your abilities. To tell you the truth, I am completely useless in forward swordsmanship." Howl said. "What are you taking about? That is the only swordsmanship." Kensu said. "Not anymore." Howl said. Howl held out his blade and flipped it around so the blade would point to the ground. "Now you will face my style, the reverse-sword style." Howl said in a serious tone. "If this is how you wish to die, then that's fine by me!" Kensu yelled as he charged forward. Howl crouched down and reeled his sword back to await his opponent. Kensu jumped on Howl and swung his two swords down. "Die!" Kensu yelled. Then, in the blink of an eye, Howl swung his sword and returned it to its sheath as he ended up behind Kensu. The ninja monsters eyes went blank as Howl's attack not only cut through him, but it also destroyed his blades in the process. Howl turned to Kensu's dead body and said "Don't ever underestimate me."

After settling the ordeal with the stomach virus, Mephiles chased down the hall until the reached a dead end room that was currently under renovation. "Look's like there's nowhere left to run." Mephiles said in a sinister manner. "I know that, silly. I brought you here so we wouldn't ruin all those nice art things." Raine said giddily, deeply confusion Mephiles. "What is that supposed to mean?" Mephiles asked. "This." Raine said as she pulled out a veil of red powder. Raine pulled out the cap and flew over Mephiles, dumping the contents inside. "What kind of trick is this?" Mephiles questioned. "Let's light 'em!" Raine exclaimed as she pulled out a sparkler from her jacket. "Where does she get all these things?" Mephiles asked. Raine dropped the sparkler and quickly took off down the hall. Mephiles watched as the sparkler slowly fell to the ground and made contact with the red powder. The sparkler ignited the powder and created a miniature explosion that caught Mephiles off guard. Mephiles body was splattered all over the room and slowly dissolved into the ground. "This isn't over." Mephiles proclaimed before he completely disappeared.

Back at the main entrance, a loud crash could be heard as a cloud of dust formed around the area. When the dust cloud died away, the entire room was in shambles. Craters in the ground, holes in the walls, and small black flames everywhere. Yet, in the middle of all this stood Nazo, completely unscratched, and Recter face down into the ground with several numbers of injuries. "You. What kind of monster are you?" Recter questioned weakly. "I am no monster. I am a god. Now if you'll excuse me." Nazo smirked as he walked over to the chaos emerald. Recter desperately tried to crawl to reach him, but his body quickly gave out and collapsed. Nazo effortlessly to the chaos emerald and turned back to Recter's battered form. "I'll admit, you were a bit difficult. But it all ends here. Until next time, Recter." Nazo smiled menacingly as he used chaos control to transport back to his dimension. Unknown to him, Rector smiled and slowly got back to his feet, trying not to fall over. "I can't believe he fell for that." Rector chuckled, but quickly stopped because of his aching side.

Morning came within the hour as the team awaited for the arrival of the people would be picking up the emerald. That's to Raine's amazing ability with medicine, most of Recter's wounds were healed up, but a few still required a longer period of healing. "Just what did he do to you?" Howl asked as Raine applied a blue liquid to Recter's back. "This guy, he's no ordinary hedgehog. This guy was completely of a different level." Recter said. Recter hissed as he felt the sting of Raine's medicine. "Hold still!" Raine said with authority. "Ok, ok, geez." Recter sighed. Howl sniffed the air and found the scents of the curator and two different scents. "Look's like our clients are here." Howl said. Recter stood up and turned to find not only the curator, but Sonic along with his little sister. "Amy? What are you doing here?" Recter asked. "Hi, big brother. Me and Sonic were come here to pick up the chaos emerald." Amy said. Recter nodded his head and reached behind his back to pull out...the purple chaos emerald. "Here, take it. That thing is nothing but trouble." Recter said as he tossed the emerald to Amy.

"Thanks, big brother." Amy smiled as she caught the chaos emerald in midair. "Hey, Sonic, can I talk to you for a moment?" Recter asked. "Sure." Sonic answered. Recter slung his arm around Sonic's should and pulled him away from hearing distance of the others. "Hey, I heard that you and Amy are a part of a team and are now living together. Is that true?" Recter asked. "Yeah." Sonic said. Wrong answer. Recter then closed his arm around Sonic's neck and tightened it to cut off the circulation to Sonic's lungs. "Thought so. If I find out that anything happens to my baby sister, physically or emotionally, I'll hunt you down and skin you alive. Got it?" Recter threatened. Sonic quickly nodded his head and desperately tried to gasp for air. Recter finally loosened his grip around Sonic and moved in closer to whisper into his ear. "Also, watch out for a silver hedgehog named Nazo. He's after the chaos emeralds and he very powerful." Recter warned. "Got it." Sonic said in a serious tone as Recter released him and walked over to the others.

"Well it's about time." Amy said in a huff. "Sorry, we were just having a little chat." Recter said while glaring at Sonic, sending shivers down the blue blur's spine. "Recter, we've collected our payment." Howl held up a wad of cash. "I think it would be best if we left right away." Howl forewarned. "Why? What's the rush?" Sonic asked. Before Recter could even answer, a loud scream erupted from inside the museum. "What happened to my museum!" the curator screamed at the top of his lungs. "Uh oh, got go! See ya, sis!" Recter yelled as he ran off. "Take care of yourselves!" Howl exclaimed. "Bye-bye!" Raine shouted before the both took off after their leader. "You know, Amy, you have a weird family." Sonic said stupidly. "WHAT!?" Amy yelled. Sonic instantly realized his mistake and turned around, only to be piled into the ground by Amy's hammer. "This is not my day." Sonic mumbled under his breath.

* * *

Back in the dreary dimension of the Dark Ruler's, Mephiles leaned against the wall as he slowly reformed his right hand and left leg. "Those three were more difficult then were expected." Mephiles pointed out. "And a lot more clever too." Nazo said irritantly. Nazo held out the chaos emerald he stole, only to crush it in his palm and reduce it to dust. "So, the emerald was a fake all along. Very clever." Mephiles commented. "Fate has taken a turn against us." Nazo said as he resummoned the chess board with the small figures. Nazo angrily waved his hand over the hero's side to summon three more figures of Team Virtex. "This is getting out of hand. If we don't do something soon, we will surely fall." Nazo said. "What do you intent to do?" Mephiles asked. Nazo picked up Recter's figure and moved it forward one space before picking up his own figure. "It's time we take things into our own hands." Nazo said as he placed the figure one space forward.

* * *

**"Take things into our own hands". What does Nazo have planned. Will the Sonic Heroes be able to stand against them. Stay tuned to find out.**

**Please, read and review.**


	8. Special Delivery

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sonic characters, just the OC's

Chapter Seven: Special Delivery

Sonic and Amy were returning from their pick up job with the purple chaos emerald in hand. Amy handed Sonic the emerald and said "You better take this to Tails so he can put it in the storage." "Yeah, I'll do that." Sonic said as he stepped back a few steps, still fearing Recter's earlier threat. Sonic ran into the bases workshop and, as expected, found Omega and Tails working on a new invention. Deciding to have a little fun, Sonic stealthily snuck up to the genius duo and yelled "Hey, guys! Whatcha doing!" "Sonic!" Tails screamed in surprise. Tails unfortunately crossed a few wires and exploded his new invention in their faces. "Eh, could use some work." Sonic commented. "What is it, Sonic?" Tails asked while wiping the soot from his face. "Just need to put this away." Sonic showed off the chaos emerald. "A chaos emerald! We have to put that in the storage, right away!" Tails shouted excitingly as he jumped from his chair. Tails ran past his plane, the Tornado III, and skid to a halt in front of a blank wall with a handprint scanner on the side. Tails eagerly removed his glove and placed his hand on the scanner. The three stood for a moment as the wall slowly disappeared to reveal the hidden room behind it.

"Wow! You really tricked this place out!" Sonic exclaimed in shock and amazement. This was the first time he had ever been in this room and was nearly knocked out of his shoes. Most of the room was displayed with mementos from the heroes past adventures and some important items. Line along the walls were the cryogenic pods that contained Shadow and Kumori, a piece of the Black Comet, Sonic and Amy's Extreme Gear, Jet's book, 'Jet and the Secret Rings', rested upon a small podium, the scepter of darkness, and a piece of Metal Overlord's armor. But the main attraction was the Master Emerald resting at its shrine-like base in the center of the room. Many of the heroes still found it shocking that Knuckles actually took the Master Emerald from it original home to their new one. Not surprisingly, the trio found Blue sitting with Tikal at the shrine steps. "What do you think there talking about?" Tails asked curiously. "I don't know, but I bet it's not good for Blue." Sonic smirked. They noticed as Tikal moved in closer, Blue was becoming more uneasy. "Body temperature of subject Blue is steadily rising!" Omega stated, earning a chuckle from Sonic and Tails.

"Well, we better put this into a safe place." Tails said as he took the emerald from his 'brother'. "So where's the other one?" Sonic questioned as he noticed the other chaos emerald could not be found anywhere in the room. Just then, Tails placed his hand on the wall to open it up and reveal a small key panel. After pressing the buttons for a random code, the floor behind them slowly opened up. From beneath the moving floor came a miniature shrine with seven different colored holes indented in the center. The red chaos emerald was already occupying the red hole as Tails placed the new emerald in the purple hole. "Two down, five to go." Tails said. "Hey, Tails, where are the birdbrain's Gear." Sonic said as he noticed that the Babylon Rogue's Extreme Gear were not in the room like his and Amy's. "The commander called earlier for a delivery run. Since you or Shadow weren't around, we had them go get it." Tails said. "What's the thing anyway?" Sonic asked. "I don't know, but it must be very important if he wanted us to get it for him." Tails said.

* * *

High above the Pacific Ocean, Metal was stood besides Eggman and Mecha as they listened in on Sonic and Tails conversation. "I still find it incredible that you were able plant a miniature radio on Sonic during your previous battle." Eggman complimented. "You must know your enemy if you wish to defeat your enemy. That is one of the oldest, but most clever battle plans in recorded history." Metal stated. "Hmm. What ever that parcel might be could give us an advantage." Mecha commented. "Or it could be an incredible waste of our time." Metal pointed out. "Well, we don't know that, now do we?" Eggman said. "I'll have Bokkun inform Violet and her squadron of the current situation." Mecha said. "Good. What ever that package is, I want it." Eggman demanded as he walked out of the room. "This is pointless. I'm out of here." Metal said as he made his way to the door. "And join you little mech group?" Mecha questioned, causing Metal to stop in his tracks. "I know your secret, Metal." Mecha said threateningly. Metal shrugged his twin's threat off and proceeded out the door.

* * *

On the outskirts of the town of Soleanna in Dusty Desert, Jet, Wave, and Storm were riding their Extreme Gear through the desert to drop off the package they had just received personally from the G.U.N. commander. "I can't believe we are actually making a drop off to the princess of Soleanna! This is so cool!" Storm threw his hands up and cheered. Wave whacked Storm over the head with her wrench to shut the bird's mouth. "Calm down, Storm. If we want to be presentable to the princess, we must act with dignity and respect. If we mess this up, the consequences will be bad and..." Jet and Storm pretty much tuned Wave out after that. "Hey, boss, what do you think the princess will give us some kind of reward for this?" Storm asked. "Maybe. After all, the commander did say it was top priority." Jet said as he gazed at the package under his arm. "Maybe she gives us some gold or food!" Storm cheered. "You're always thinking about your stomach, aren't you?" Jet mumbled.

Unbeknownst to the former thieving, Violet, along with nine black clones, was waiting for the Rogues behind a set of rocks. "Top priority huh? That just makes it even more valuable. All right, you know the plan. Break!" Violet commanded and the black clones scattered. "You know, this seems a little too easy." Wave commented suspiciously. "Eh, your worrying too much." Storm said. "I'm serious, you dolt!" Wave shouted. "D-d-dolt?" Storm stuttered. "That's what I said, you idiot!" Wave shouted again. '(Sigh) Here we go again.' Jet mentally kicked himself. As the birds continually argued, they failed to notice the three pairs of claws that popped out of the ground until it was too late. The claws grabbed the Rogue's Gear and forced to fall flat of their beaks in the sand. Another unfortunate event was that Jet accidentally threw the package away upon being forced off his Gear. The package then landed in Violet's claws as the rest of the black clones surrounded the Rogue's. "Aw, look what we have here. A group of birdbrains." Violet laughed. "Hey, give that back! It's ours!" Storm demanded. "You want this." Violet tossed the package in her claws. "Then come and get it. Black clones, attack!" the clones charged forward.

Two of the black clones jump Storm and wrap their bodies around his arms before pinning their claws to the ground to prevent him from escaping. "Hey! Get off!" Storm shouted as he struggled to break the bonds of the clones, but it proved to be in vein. A third black clone jumped in and gave a roundhouse kick to the side of Storm's face. After turning a complete 360 degree angle, the black clone continually punched the albatross in the gut. Storm's face wrinkled in pained from the powerful blows he was receiving. Having his arms pinned down, Storm could do nothing to save himself. Finally the black clone reeled its fist back fifteen feet and said "Game over, fatty." Big mistake. "I'm not fat! I'm big boned!!!" Storm snapped. Gathering an amazing amount of strength in his arms, Storm effortlessly pulled the black clones off and threw them at the third clone. "You had to open your mouth, didn't you?" one of the clones said. "I don't have one." the other replied. Just then, they noticed a shadow growing bigger and looked up. "Body slam!!!" Storm yelled as he crushed the clones under his fa... I mean big boned body.

Wave swung her wrench around to take a crack at a black clone, but the clone unfortunately dove to the ground to avoid the attack. The black clone grabbed her legs as two more bashed her in the back to drop her to the ground. "Ooh, you are so dead!" Wave exclaimed as she swung around to hit the copies with her wrench again. Unfortunately, one of the black clones grabbed her wrist and tightened its grip to force the purple swallow to release her wrench. "Pathetic little twerp." The clone says as he throws Wave to the ground. "Let's get this over with." Another one of clones says as they all show off their claws as a threat. But instead of being frightened, as the clones expected, Wave slowly got back to her feet and started chuckling. "Uh...did I miss the joke?" one of the clones questioned. Wave then held up her remote control, creating confused looks on her opponents faces. Wave then points downwards, causing the looks to look down and find small red button devices on their chests. "Uh oh." The clones said simultaneously. Wave flipped the switch on her control and the clones exploded.

"Come on, is that all you got?" Jet mocked as he dodged another one of the black clone's claws. Jet leaned back just in time to avoid the swiping claws, but did not notice another clone coming from behind and kicked him into the air. While in the air, Jet turned around and pulled out his fans to create a gale of wind to knock away the two clones. "Hey, what happened to the other one?" Jet questioned. Just then, the third black clone appeared from behind Jet and extended his claw to slam the emerald bird into the ground. "Ok, I am defiantly going to feel that one in the morning." Jet muttered while tending to his throbbing head. "You ready to give up?" one of the clones asked as all three surrounded him from all sides. "Heh! If I gave up, I wouldn't be the legendary wind hawk." Jet said, boasting about the title given to him by Shahra. "???" The clones gave a confused look. Before any of the clones could realize it, Jet's ring began to glow as he called out his signature technique. "TIME BREAK!" In a split second, the spot were Jet once stood became empty and Jet stood outside the circle of clones with his fans held out. And with a single snap of his fingers, the clones were reduced to harmless puddles.

"These clones are completely useless." Violet muttered. "Hand over that box before we have to get rough." Storm threatened while pounding his fist into his hand. "Please, you idle threats don't effect me." Violet shrugged. "The maybe this will!" Storm shouted as he charged forward and swung his fist. Unfortunately, Violet reverted to a puddle form, causing the albatross to slip and piledrived his beak into a nearby rock. "I just knew that was going to happen." Wave commented as she shook her head in embarrassment. "Listen, just give us back the box and we can get this over with." Jet tried to reason with the female Chaos. "Can't do that. Eggman wants it for himself." Violet said. "Why? What's in that thing anyway?" Wave asked. "I don't know. Let's take a look." Violet said as she opened the box. Once the box once opened, Violet gave a vacant look for a moment before closing the box back up. "Here. You can have it back. Metal was right, this was a waste of time." Violet muttered as she threw the box back to the Rogues and gloomily walked away. "What was that all about?" Jet asked. "Who knows? Let's just grab Storm and get to the princess's palace before anything else happens." Wave said. Shrugging off what just happened, Jet and Wave both picked up Storm and made their way to Soleanna.

Inside the beautiful palace of Soleanna, the current ruler, Elise, stood at her balcony and watched as the sun went down. It reminded her of the time Super Silver stood against Solaris, the Flames of Disaster. His gold quills shining rays of hope in the dark world that was destined to be the future. The say the least, she was actually quite surprised she still remembered that event even after the timeline was altered. "(Sigh) Things sure are boring without Siler or Amy around." Elise said as she remembered her small adventures with the two. "Excuse me, Miss Elise." One of the soldiers said as he walked up to the princess and bowed to her. "What is it?" Elise asked while still gazing at the sunset. "A group of anthro birds have arrived, claiming they have a package for you." the guard informed. "Oh, it must be that package for the minister. Tell them I'll be down there in a minute." Elise instructed. "As you wish, Miss Elise." The guard said. "(Sigh) I wish there was at least some excitement around her." Elise silently complained before exiting to meet with the Rogues.

"Wow!" The Babylon Rogue's mouths fell to the ground upon entering into the palace. The whole palace with covered in polished marble floors and walls along with many valuable works of art. "Ow!" Jet exclaimed as Wave slapped his hand away from touching one of the statues. "Don't touch." Wave exclaimed with authority. "Excuse me, are you the ones that are making the delivery?" the group turned to the staircase to see Elise walking down the steps with an elder man. "Uh...yeah." Jet said s he handed her the package. Elise then turned to the elder and the package to him. "Thank you very much for bringing this to me." The elder said. "No problem." Storm said. "By the way, old man, what's in that box?" Jet asked. "Why, my dear boy, inside this box is..." The elder trailed off dramatically as he slowly reached to open the box. Elise and Rogues watched unblinkingly as the elder slowly opened the box. "...Absolutely nothing." The elder laughed as he opened the box to reveal that it was empty. Everyone, including Elise, facefaulted to the floor. "What the hell kind of ending is that!!!" Jet screamed.

* * *

Back at the Egg-Carrier III, Metal slowly walked out of his secret room and shut the hidden door behind him. "I'm guessing the mission was a failure." Metal quesioned as Mecha suddenly appeared beside him. "You were right, it was a watse of time. apparently, the minister likes to colect boxes." Mecha said. "What a fool." Metal chuckled as he walked past Mecha. "How long until your plans will be set in motion?" Mecha asked. "The time stone won't be active until three days from now." Metal stopped and informed his creation. "So you really intend to go back to your origional time?" Mecha asked. "If my plans are to succeed, then yes." Meta; answered. "Very well. I won't tell Eggman...yet. But there is still the threat of Nazo. he has been chasing you for quite a while. it's only a matter of time until he finds us." Mecha stated. "I know, that's why I created that machine to save Violet. Violet is the only one who can activate Nazo's weakness." Metal informed his counter part. "He won't stop until he gets back what you took from him." Mecha said. Metal gripped his claws and said "I know."

* * *

In the dreary castle of the Dark Rulers, Nazo snaps his fingers and summons Black Doom, Erazor Djinn, and Mephiles into the main chamber. "What is it, my lord?" Black Doom asked. "Those blasted heroes aren't taking us seriously. They think our our monsters are nothing but a joke. It's time we made our move." Nazo said. "And how do you intend to do that?" Erazor questioned. "It's like I said before, it's time we take matters into our own hands. Prepare yourselves, for tomorrow, we strike." Nazo said in his usual sinister manner. Black Doom disappeared with chaos control, Erazor turned to black smoke, and Mephiles conjured one of his purple energy balls. They knew tomorrow would be a big day for everyone. Once everyone was gone, Nazo summoned the chess board again and picked up the figure of Metal. "Hopefully this will draw you out, Metal. I swear, one day, I will take back what you took from me." Nazo said as he placed the figure one space ahead of it original position.

* * *

**Nazo prepares to make his move as Metal's plans further develope. How do these two know each other and what is it that Metal took? Stay tuned to find out.**

**Please, read and review**


	9. Evil Never Dies, Part 1

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sonic characters, just the OC's

Chapter Nine: Evil Never Dies, Part 1

Deep in the dreary dimension of the Dark Rulers, Nazo sits at his makeshift throne as his so-called, loyal, servants entered into the central camber of the castle. "So, which monster shall we send to destroy those heroes this time?" Black Doom questioned. "I have three in particular that I wish to send." Nazo said. "And who will they be?" Mephiles asked. "An alien overlord, an immortal demon, and a shadow genie." Nazo smirked. "Oh, they sound powerful." Erazor said, not quite grasping Nazo's idea. Nazo and Black Doom sweat dropped while Mephiles jumped up and smack Erazor in the back of the head. "You idiot, he's talking about us." Mephiles said. "Precisely." Nazo confirmed his belief. "But why send us?" Black Doom asked. "I believe that there are a few certain anthro's that you wish to take revenge upon." Nazo said as he summoned Silver, Shadow, and Jet's figures on the table. "Shadow." Black Doom said venomously. "Jet." Erazor said with spite. "Silver." Mephiles said with hatred. "You know what to do. Draw them out...and kill them." Nazo instructed. The three bowed their heads in acknowledgement before exiting the dimension through their own means of transportation.

* * *

Back at the hero's base, Silver and Jet were looking through the viewing glass as Sonic and Shadow duked it out in the training arena. "Do you think they'll kill each other?" Jet asked. "Let's hope not. We aren't insured for them yet." Silver joked as he looked back to the fight. Sonic jumped back as Shadow sent a spiraling kick to the ground. "Stop running and face me like a hedgehog." Shadow said. "Alright, you asked for it." Sonic said. Getting a grip to the ground, Sonic charged at full throttle and jabbed his shoulder into Shadow's chest. "Not bad." Shadow grabbed a hold of Sonic's shoulders and flipped over. "But not good enough." Shadow landed and swung his foot around to Sonic's head. Fortunately, the blue blur caught sight of his counter parts attack and ducked under the blow. "Nice try, Shad." Sonic smirked as he threw a punch to Shadow's face. The black hedgehog saw the attack and raised his fist to block the attack. Shadow counteracted by throwing his own punch to Sonic's face, only to have it caught in the palm of his hand. "I see you have improved. All right, no more holding back." Shadow smirked. "Ok, you asked for it." Sonic returned as they pushed away from each other. 

"Twenty bucks says Shadow wins." Jet placed his bet. "Twenty bucks says Sonic wins." Silver returned the bet. "And twenty bucks says you stop this nonsense and get to work." A third voice broke into the conversation. Silver and Jet looked at the television screen near the viewing window as the G.U.N. Commander's face appeared on screen. "Commander!" Jet exclaimed in surprise as he and Silver jumped into a salute. "What is it, sir?" Silver asked. "We have received reports that three strange beings are attacking Station Square." The commander informed. "Hah! Nothing we can't handle." Jet boasted. "That's not all. We have received word that the leader of the Black Arms is amongst them." The commander said. "Black Doom." Silver stated. "Please, hurry before it's too late." The commander said. "We're on our way, commander." Jet said before the screen shut off. Back inside the training room, both Sonic and Shadow conjured their signature attacks as they prepared to strike. "SONIC..." "CHAOS..." "Hold it, guys!" Jet shouted, causing the hedgehogs to fall flat on their faces. "What?!" Sonic and Shadow yelled. "No time for games. We got work to do." Silver said with a serious tone.

Station Square was left in ruins, like it is everyday of week, as Black Doom, Erazor Djinn, and Mephiles began their reign of destruction. Black Doom conjured an array of meteors that plunged into one of the main buildings. Erazor unsheathed his razor blade and ran at a rapid speed past one of the buildings, slicing it down the middle. "CHAOS SPEAR!" Mephiles summoned a horde of black arrow the crushed the buildings on contact. "If this doesn't catch their attention, nothing will." Erazor said. "You know, it would be easier just to phone us." The trio of evils turned to face the heroes that had come to save the day. They looked quite pleased by the surprised looks on their faces. "Erazor Djinn?" Jet said in shock. "Mephiles?" Silver said, equally shocked. "Hey, Doomy. Long time, no see." Sonic mocked the alien leader. "The blue one is he too." Black Doom said. "Just ignore him. He is of no threat to us." Mephiles said. "What?!" Sonic yelled in outrage. "Hold on, Sonic. Just stay back. Let us take care of them. That's an order." Shadow ordered as tried to keep the blue blur back. "Aw, man." Sonic complained. "Get ready to die, you intolerable little pests." Black Doom said as the heroes and villains all charged at once.

"I killed you before and I'll do it again!" Shadow proclaimed as he jumped into the air and curled into his ball form. Unfortunately, Black Doom merely threw out his hand and pushed the black ball back. "You really think it will be that easy. I have learned from my past mistakes, Shadow." Black Doom stated as he gripped his robe. In one swift motion, Black threw off his robe to reveal an entirely new body. It was a black armored alien with three blood red eyes and a five foot dagger tail. "Ok, I cannot say I was expecting that." Shadow said. "Get ready to die." Black Doom threatened. Black Doom raised his tail and threw to Shadow, who dodged to the right, and attempted to stab again. Just as the dagger came to an inch of his face, Shadow quickly halted the tail between his hands. "Whew." Shadow sighed in relief. Too bad the rest of the tail wrapped itself around his body. The tails uncoiled itself and spun Shadow into the air. Black Doom, using his new bodies advanced speed, charged forward and jumped to kick Shadow in the side. Black Doom's new body not only proved fast, but powerful as well as Shadow was sent through, not one, but two office buildings.

"You may have defeated me last time, you filthy pigeon, but I am still superior, even without the seven world rings!" Erazor proclaimed. "Ok, first, I'm a hawk. And second, you talk too much." Hawk said annoyingly as possible. A huge red vein appeared on Erazor's forehead as he unsheathed his razor blade. "You pay for you insults, you filthy pigeon!" Erazor yelled as he sent two blades of energy towards the emerald bird. Jet easily dodged the attacks by moving to the side and rolling forward on the ground. "Ok, my turn. TIME BREAK!" Jet called out as time instantly stopped. Jet held out his fans as he charged forward and jumped to take a swing at the dark genie. Unfortunately, time resumed itself and Erazor quickly raised his blade to block the attack. "You really think I'll fall for the same trick twice?" Erazor mocked. Erazor pushed Jet and kicked both his fans out of his hands. The dark genie then swung around and shot a back kick that sent Jet hurtling into the air. Erazor looked up to his prey and transformed into a cloud of black smoke. The smoke then appeared behind Jet and transformed back into Erazor. Erazor then jabbed his elbow into Jet's back and piledrived the emerald bird into the pavement.

Mephiles and Silver punch simultaneously and caught the attacks with their other hands. "How did you escape the void I trapped you in?" Silver questioned. "Let's just say I have my ways." Mephiles said arrogantly. Silver and Mephiles attempted to knee each other in the gut, only to have them blocked by the other. Silver and Mephiles pushed back with the legs and flipped backwards away from each other. "CHAOS SPEAR!" "PSYCHIC SCREW!" Mephiles shot a series of black arrows while Silver summons a typhoon of psychokinetic energy. Unfortunately, the arrows were made from pure chaos and simply passed through Silver's attack. The good news was that the psychic attack still made it way to its target. "Humph. Looks like it's time to stop messing around." Mephiles said to himself. Mephiles conjured one of his energy orbs and vanished within the purple sphere just before the attack landed. Back with Silver, the grey hedgehog used his psychokinetic powers to levitate himself in the air to dodge the black arrows aimed for him. "Where'd he go?" Silver searched the area for Mephiles. "Looking for me?" Silver swiftly turned, only to be pinned to the wall by a giant claw of ooze.

"Pathetic little rodent." Black Doom said as he raised Shadow's crippled body in his tail and swatted Shadow into the air. As Shadow's body fell to the ground, Black Doom held his dagger tail beneath Shadow. Black Doom was just about to impale Shadow in the back until a blue blur ran past and cut his tail clean off. "WHAT?!" Black Doom yelled in outrage as he looked to the side to find Sonic smirking. "Alright, you guys had you're fun. Now it's my turn!" Sonic cheered. "No, Sonic." Shadow pleaded as he slowly got up. "But, Shadow..." "I can't let you do this. I made a promise." Shadow cut him off. "I did too." Jet said. "We all did." Silver said. "I made a promise to Maria to protect the planet she loved so much!" Shadow exclaimed. "I promised Shahra that I would stop you no matter what!" Jet claimed to Erazor. "I promised Elise I would never let you harm another innocent soul!" Silver yelled at Mephiles. "Please...do us a favor, Sonic. Stay out of it." Shadow pleaded. Sonic was about to argue until he noticed the look in his friend's eyes. It was a look of determination. Realizing there was no talking him out of it, Sonic stood down.

"You really think you can keep such a promise?" Black Doom mocked Shadow proclamations. "I don't think, I know." Shadow muttered lowly. Shadow reached for his golden rings and detached them from his cuffs. A sudden burst of energy rushed out of Shadow as he powers were no longer held back. "CHAOS CONTROL!" Shadow yelled and disappeared in an instant. The next second, Black Doom was fisted in the gut and sent hurtling back. Shadow then appeared behind Black Doom and kicked him straight into the air. Shadow once again appeared atop of and reeled both fist fists back to pound the alien in the gut and slam him into the ground. Black Doom tried to stand up, but Shadow stopped him and held his head to the ground. "What are you doing?!" Black Doom screamed as Shadow's body began to draw a massive amount of red chaos. "CHAOS BLAST!!!" Shadow yelled. Shadow released the energy to create a miniature atomic blast that completely obliterated Black Doom's body. Unfortunately, the real Black Doom (the one-eyed alien squid) escaped the body seconds before the explosion.

"You just don't know when to quit, do you?" Erazor scoffed as Jet slowly tried to stand back on to his feet. "Very well, I'll just put you out of your misery." Erazor held his blade high above his head. Erazor brought his blade down, but his target persistently jumped to the side and grabbed his fans in the process. "If you couldn't beat me before, what makes you think you can now?" Jet smirked. "I'll shut that beak of yours permanently!" Erazor stated as he swung his razor blade to shoot out a wave of energy. Jet's ring began to glow as he called out his signature technique "TIME BREAK!" In that instant, time stood still for Jet as he ran past the energy blades and jumped to Erazor Djinn. Unfortunately, time resumed itself and Erazor took the opportunity to slice Jet in half. But instead of blood, something unexpected came from inside Jet. 'Straw?' Erazor's mind went into overload. After taking a double take, Erazor found that what he actually killed...was a scarecrow. "Looking for someone?" Jet's voice came from behind. Erazor swiftly turned around just in time to witness Jet swing his fan to create a miniature typhoon. Erazor had no chance to dodge the attack and was propelled into the side of a building.

"So, what act shall you be performing?" Mephiles tempted his capture opponent. "This!" Silver exclaimed as he created a barrier around his body and blew the ooze claw the pieces. "You are just as persistent as I last saw you. I am immortal. Why not just accept the fact that you cannot win?" Mephiles questioned. "You were the one that told me I was the descendent of Sonic. It's time I lived up to the family name." Silver said. Mephiles gather a ball of purple energy and hurtled it to the grey hedgehog. Silver counteracted by creating a wave of psychokinetic energy that shot out and eliminated Mephiles' attack while still rushing forward. Acting fast, Mephiles created another energy orb to transport his body just seconds before he was hit. Mephiles jumped down from the energy orb in another location only to have Silver appear out of nowhere from the side. Silver created a blade of psychokinetic energy with his hand and sliced Mephiles in half. While in midair, Mephiles' upper half swung around to claw at Silver. But the grey hedgehog repelled with another barrier and splattered Mephiles all over the street.

Shadow teleported via chaos control to grab a hold of Black Doom's tentacles and swung him around to shoot him into the ground. Erazor attempted to slice the emerald bird, but Jet block with the metal of his fans and flipped the genie over his shoulder to land with Black Doom. Mephiles attempted to regenerate as fast as possible, but it was not quick enough as Silver kicked his head to join with his evil partners. "All right, I think it's time we let Sonic join in on the fun." Shadow said with a smirk. "Finally!" Sonic cheered. As the Dark Rulers tried to bounce back from their defeats, Sonic gather a great amount of blue chaos into his hands and molded into a sphere. "SONIC WINDS!" Sonic yelled as he threw his signature attack at the trio of evils. The Dark Rulers had no chance to avoid it and were hit full blast by the devastating wind, creating an explosion of chaos. "Well, glad that's over." Silver said with a sigh of relief. "Can we go home now?" Jet whined. "Yes, let's go." Shadow said as they turned to leave. But after only three steps, Shadow suddenly stopped and began shivering. "Shadow, what's wrong?" Sonic asked. "S-such evil. It's s-so c-c-cold." Shadow shivered as he turned back to the defeated Rulers.

Black Doom, Erazor, and Mephiles opened their eyes (or eye, in Black Dooms case) and found out they were still alive. "What happened?" Erazor asked. "I did." A sinister voice called from the smoke. As the smoke cleared, the Rulers found their master in front of them with his hand stretched out. "Who is that guy?" Sonic questioned. Nazo looked to his hand and found it to be completely burned. Must have been because he tried to block Sonic's attack. But in a matter of seconds, the burns and scars disappeared completely, as if they had never been there before. "Amazing. No one has been able to do harm to me since I fought that red hedgehog." Nazo said. Hearing the description of Recter, something in Sonic's mind suddenly clicked. "Red hedgehog? Then that means...you're Nazo!" Sonic exclaimed. "It is such an honor that you actually know me. But not much of one." Nazo sniggered. "Nazo, what are you doing here?" Erazor asked. "Do not worry yourself. I will take over from here." Nazo said. Nazo stepped forward from his servants and stood only five yards away from the heroes. "You may have been able to defeat them, but let's see how you stand up to a god." Nazo smirked. The heroes could tell that their biggest battle was up ahead.

* * *

**The Dark Rulers are pulling out all the stops as Nazo finally takes a stand. What powers does Nazo possess? Will the heroes stand in victory or fall in defeat? Stay tuned to find out.**

**Please, read and review.**


	10. Evil Never Dies, Part 2

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sonic characters, just the OC's

Chapter Ten: Evil Never Dies, Part 2

Sonic, Shadow, Silver, and Jet had just defeated their greatest enemies all at once and thought their greatest battle was over. Oh, they could not be anymore wrong. Now facing off against the heroes was the leader of the Dark Rulers, the mysterious silver hedgehog known as Nazo. "So, this is the greatest challenge this pathetic little planet has to offer. Oh, how things have change over the past three thousand years." Nazo chuckled. "I can't believe it. He's laughing at us!" Jet exclaimed. "Come on, we can take him." Sonic said with excitement in his voice. "Don't get to cocky, Sonic. This guy has the power to keep the three most powerful evils in line. He is obviously more powerful then he appears." Shadow said thoughtfully. "How very perceptive of you, Shadow. It is true; Nazo holds more power then even the seven chaos emeralds." Black Doom boasted. The heroes stood in shock. Does this so-called 'God' truly have an even he greater level of power then the chaos emeralds? "Aw, you're scaring them." Nazo mocked. "We're not scared!" Silver shouted. "Then prove it. Allow me to show you the true power of chaos!" Nazo exclaimed as he challenged the heroes to battle.

"Stand back! This guy is mine!" Jet shouted as he held up his signature fans. "Great, the little pigeon is my first opponent." Nazo mocked in a sarcastic manner. A giant red vein appeared on Jet's feathery head. "For the last time I am a HAWK!" Jet screamed as he recklessly charged forward. As Jet came closer, Nazo drove this fist at the emerald bird. Jet saw the punch coming and amazingly flipped over Nazo. "Gotcha now!" Jet exclaimed as he swung around with both fans held firm. With that single swing, Jet created a massive hurricane that struck Nazo hard in the back. The hurricane carried Nazo down the street and smashed into the side of a nearby office building. "So much for your 'God'." Jet sniggered. Unfortunately for him, Nazo got back to his feet and looked at the injury applied to his back. A large gash was formed on his back with blood seeping out. But in a matter of seconds, the blood returned to the wound and completely disappeared. "W-what?" Jet said baffled. "CHAOS WIND!" Nazo called out as he swung around to create a tornado of chaos. Jet, still shocked, was hit full force by the tornado and smashed to a nearby building. Jet rested in the gravel with his eyes rolled back, clearly unconscious.

"Jet!" the heroes cried. "Next." Nazo smiled in a sinister manner. "You will pay for that, you monster!" Silver screamed as he used his psychokinetic powers to levitate and charge forward. Silver stopped only a few feet away and charged up the psychic energy into his right palm and released it in the form of a sphere. Nazo counteracted by creating a barrier, but was still pushed back five feet. "Simply amazing. Your use of chaos is much more unique and advanced then my own, but..." Nazo instantly disappeared and wound up behind Silver. "Nothing can beat the classics." Nazo smirked. Silver his fist around to strike Nazo, but the silver hedgehog once again disappeared. "Your abilities are most likely more advanced because you come from the future. Too bad that won't help you here." Nazo said as he placed his hand on Silver's back. "CHAOS LANCE!" Nazo copied Shadow's technique. Silver's eyes went blank as the powerful chaos technique burst through his chest, just barely missing heart. "Now to finish you." Nazo said as he attempted to use another chaos technique to kill the hedgehog. But before he could even make an attempt, Shadow came out of nowhere and kicked Nazo back a few feet.

"Silver!" Sonic exclaimed as he ran to his descendant's side. "Don't worry, he's still alive." Shadow reassured him. "Hey, Shadow, wasn't that your move?" Sonic asked. "Yes, it is." Shadow answered. "How does he know it?" Sonic asked. "I don't know, but I'm going to find out." Shadow said as he raced towards Nazo. After watching Nazo fight Jet and Silver, Shadow came to the conclusion that he was a long-ranged fighter and decided to go close combat. Shadow swung his foot at Nazo's head, who ducked down to avoid it. Nazo attempted to uppercut his opponent, but the black hedgehog counteracted with his own fist. "How did you know that last attack?" Shadow questioned. "Know it? I created it!" Nazo stated sinisterly. "What?!" Shadow exclaimed in shock. "That's right. I created every chaos technique in existence, including this one." Nazo said as his body started to gather a large amount of red chaos. "Damn!" Shadow cursed as he tried to get away, but it was too late "CHAOS BLAST!!!" Nazo released all the chaos. Shadow was lucky enough to be far away enough the die, but was still thrown through the window of a nearby store.

"Is there no one who can challenge my power?" Nazo questioned. "How bout this?" Nazo turned around, only to receive the end of Sonic's homing attack. Nazo was thrown head down into the street as Sonic uncurled himself. "Hah! Too slow!" Sonic cheered. Unfortunately, Nazo swiftly jumped to his feet, the bruise on his forehead completely healed. Sonic figured he could win with his speed, but the moment he blinked, Nazo was gone. "You're quite fast." Nazo used his own speed to appear behind Sonic. "But not enough to keep up with me." Nazo stated as he formed a blade of chaos with his right hand. As Sonic turned around, Nazo lunged the blade at Sonic. "CHAOS BLADE!" Blood was splattered everywhere as Nazo struck hard. Only, it wasn't Sonic's blood. Sonic looked back to that Shadow had taken the attack in the gut to save Sonic's life. "S-shadow?" Sonic stuttered in fear. "Sonic...don't lose...to him." Shadow gasped out before he fell over. "Foolish rodent. He had so much potential. He could have been a god. But he became weak because the bonds to his heart dragged him down." Nazo smirked. In only to seconds, Nazo felt a presence so evil it sent shivers down his own spine. "What is this?" Nazo questioned as he turned back to Sonic.

Sonic's fur a pitch-black color and his eyes were completely blank. Sonic's rage had transformed him into Dark Sonic. "What in the..." Nazo couldn't finish as Dark Sonic drove his fist into the side of his fist. As Nazo was launched into the air, Dark Sonic suddenly appeared and kicked Nazo to the ground. The street exploded as Nazo's body created a crater. "Damn! His rage and killer intent...it rivals that of my own." Nazo said as his wounds started to heal themselves. "No. Mine is greater then yours." A dark and raspy voice came from behind. Dark Sonic appeared behind Nazo and formed a sphere of black chaos. Dark Sonic hurled the black sphere at Nazo's back, but the silver hedgehog jumped just in time before he became a permanent mark in the street. "This guy is serious. He really intends to kill me!" Nazo exclaimed. "You got that right." Nazo looked back to Dark Sonic shoot another black sphere into his back. Nazo was thrown clean across the city and crashed into an office building. Nazo got up and attempted to heal the wound on his back, but it didn't work. "Of course. Black chaos can't heal black chaos." Nazo said as he watched Dark Sonic float up to him. Nazo stood unnerved as he stared into the face of death.

"Nazo, are you ok?" Mephiles called out from the ground. "Don't you worry this will be all over soon." Nazo said. "You're right. It will be over...once I kill you!" Dark Sonic exclaimed while clenching his fist. "Hahahaha!" Nazo laughed manically, making him look like he had gone insane. "What's so funny?!" Dark Sonic questioned venomously. "The truth is I have been hold back. All along I have been using only ten percent of my power." Nazo stated. "Only ten percent?!" Erazor exclaimed in surprise. 'Just how powerful is he?' Black Doom mentally asked himself. "Now, what do you say we raise that up to fifty percent!" Nazo shouted. A tremendous amount of chaos surrounded him as he power greatly rose. His fur turned red, the iris of his eyes turned yellow, two more quills were added to his head, his shoes became gold and black boots, and the spines turned to an 'x' shape. "In this form, you may refer to me as Hell Nazo!" Nazo shouted manically. "He's so powerful. He doesn't have any weaknesses." Erazor said. 'Oh, how wrong you are, Erazor. Taking this form has one major drawback. This form creates a damaging side effect on my body. I better make this quick before it becomes permanent' Nazo thought. "All right, time to end this." Dark Sonic said. "Bring it on." Hell Nazo said.

Dark Sonic and Hell Nazo jumped into the air and bashed their fists together, creating a shockwave that destroyed all the windows in the city. Hell Nazo threw his knee to Dark Sonic's chest, but the dark hedgehog blocked it with his forearm. Dark Sonic conjured another of black chaos and swing it at his opponent, but Hell Nazo blocked it with his black glove. Left and right, Dark Sonic and Hell Nazo clashed all across the skies, neither showing any signs of forfeiting. "I have never seen such power. This is the most amazing thing I have ever seen." Erazor said. Black Doom couldn't help but agree, his eye showing great hatred. Back in the air, the two evil entities continued to brawl until Hell Nazo felt his muscles contracting. 'Damn, it's happening already. I have to end this now.' Nazo thought. Hell Nazo barely scraped to the side as Dark Sonic threw a mighty fist, leaving him wide open. "Now!" Hell Nazo screamed as he created a blast of red chaos and blasted at Dark Sonic's side. Dark Sonic was thrown to the ground, creating a crater in the street. Hell Nazo floated to the ground and reverted back to his original form as he gazed at Sonic's defeated form. "Thank goodness that's over." Nazo said, clutching his arm in pain.

Black Doom and the other Dark Rulers joined by the master's side as they too inspected the defeated hedgehog. "Looks like it's all over." Erazor said. "Let's finish this." Nazo said as he prepared to conjure another chaos technique. But before he could attack, Chaos stepped in front of him out of nowhere using chaos control. "What the?" Mephiles questioned. The red and purple chaos emeralds floated around Chaos as he perform and hand sign and formed a black swirl in his claw. 'CHAOS SEAL!' Chaos silently said. just then, a red ring form around Nazo's neck and a purple ring formed on right spine. Nazo felt the two rings tighten around him and sent a wave of pain coursing throughout his entire body. "AAH!" Nazo screamed and collapsed to the ground as the pain became even more intense. "Nazo, what's wrong?" Erazor asked, surprised by his master's pained expression. Nazo grasped Black Doom's tentacle and demanded "Get...me...out of here." "At once. CHAOS CONTROL!" Black Doom called out and the group disappeared in a flash of light. Chaos dispelled the technique and allowed the chaos emeralds to drop on the ground. Chaos looked around with a painful expression as his friends were scattered across the street, broken and near death.

* * *

Back in the dreary dimension of the Dark Rulers, Nazo's painful screams echoed throughout the castle and a splatter as well. Apparently, Mephiles was attempting to heal Nazo with his chaos, but Nazo felt a sting and punched Mephiles' head off. "Calm yourself. I told you this would hurt." Mephiles said as his head reformed. "I have never seen you like that before. It was kind of scary." Erazor said from the end of Nazo's room. "How come you don't use that form more often?" Mephiles asked as he moved to heal the wound on Nazo's back. "In that form, not only do I exhaust more chaos, but it also damages my body from the inside. Because of that form, I will be crippled for a week." Nazo explained. "And that was only fifty percent. Tell me, what happened back there with that creature?" Mephiles asked. "That creature used a special seal that was placed on me 3000 years ago. The seal uses the chaos emeralds to reverse my chaos and destroy me from the inside out." Nazo explained. "Is that why you don't make an attempt to attack Metal?" Erazor asked. "Yes. That clone of his knows the same seal as him." Nazo stated. "But you said it requires a chaos emerald." Mephiles said. "It does, but Metal is secretly hiding a chaos emerald, which is why he took shelter amongst Eggman's army. Now, answer me this: where is Black Doom?" Nazo asked as he noticed Black Doom was not with them. 

Black Doom, back in his original alien leader body, floated in front of the table in the main chamber as he stared at the chess board Nazo normal messes with. He looked amongst the numerous figures and their positions. The four heroes they face earlier plus Recter were forward one spot, Metal was moved ahead one spot, and Nazo's figure was moved ahead as well. Black Doom picked up his leaders figure and stared at intently with an angered looked in three eyes. "Nazo, I knew that you were powerful, but if you were able to pass between the gates of hell and back at only ten percent, how powerful are you truly?" Black Doom questioned the figure, not really expecting a reply. "Still that creature seems to hold power over Nazo. Hmm. A flame that burns too wild and powerful must be snuffed out...by any means necessary. One day, Nazo, I will be sure to snuff out your flame." Black Doom said as he slammed Nazo's figure back on the chess board.

* * *

Back at the hero's base, silence swept across the base as everyone was in the infirmary. Sonic, Jet, and Silver were lying on the infirmary beds, totally knocked out from the battle against Nazo. Their injuries were terrible, but none could compare to Shadow's wounds. Shadow was on the brink of death. In a last ditch effort, the heroes took his cryogenic pod from the storage room and placed him inside to make sure he would live. The heroes gathered around their friends as the mourned fatal wounds. "Oh, Sonic." Amy Cried while Tails and cream tried to calm her. "I can't believe this." Blaze whispered as she and Team Chaotix gathered around Silver's broken form. "Who could have done such a thing?" Wave questioned as she cried into Jet's chest with Storm and Knuckles standing by her side. "Only a monster could do this." Kumori said with anger, trying to prevent herself from crying, as she and Team Dark watched Shadow's sleeping form. "This is so terrible. Never have I seen such cruelty before." Tikal said as she gazed over the battered and broken heroes. "It's a good thing Chaos brought them to us before it was too late." Knuckles commented. "Speaking of which, where is Chaos?" Blue as when he noticed his original was around. 

Deep in the storage room, Chaos sat at the top of the Master Emerald in a meditative position as the two chaos emerald flouted around. Ever since his encounter with Nazo earlier, Chaos has been uneasy. 'I can't believe it. how could I have not realized it? When Knuckles, Tikal, and I discharged the chaos emerald energies back on the ARK, his seal was broken.' Chaos mentally kicked himself as his mind wandered to that memory. He knew it was the only way to stop the ARK from crashing into the planet, but he couldn't help but think that there may have been another way. 'It doesn't matter now. After three thousand years, Nazo has finally returned. I don't know what you are planning Nazo, but as long as I still live; I will make sure that you fail...brother.' Chaos mentally said. Chaos looked on in confidence. The war of light and darkness has only just begun.

* * *

**Nazo's powers reveal themselves and Black Doom is not as loyal as he appears. What is the connection between the God of Destruction and the God of Evil? Stay tuned to find out.**

**Please, read and review.**


	11. Big Trouble

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sonic characters, just the OC's

Chapter Eleven: "Big" Trouble

It was only yesterday when the heroes suffered at the hands of Hell Nazo. Sonic and Jet, being the less critical ones, were already up and running by the next morning. But the hole in Silver's chest was still regenerating itself and Shadow's wounds progressed much slower due the cryogenic pod. Since Shadow was out of charge, Sonic, being second in command, became temporary leader of the Sonic Heroes (Everyone was still complaining about the name). Blaze was in the infirmary, sitting next to her boyfriend as she held his hand. "How are you feeling?" Blaze asked Silver. "Like I've been to Hell and back." Silver chuckled. Just then, Tails walked in. "I guess I shouldn't be too surprised to see you here, Blaze." Tails said and he moved to check Shadow's heart monitor. "How long do you think it will be till they are up again?" Blaze asked. "I don't know. Judging by the injuries, it could be a while. Oh, by the way, Sonic wants to see you, Blaze." Tails informed the pyrokinetic cat. "What for?" Blaze asked. "I don't know. He just said the commander wanted to see you." Tails said. Blaze got up from her seat and kissed her boyfriends on the cheek before saying. "See ya, later." And walked out.

As Blaze walked down the hall, she made a left to turn into the main room, where Sonic and Cream were waiting. "It's about you got here." Sonic said, tapping his foot in his normal impatient manner. "Calm down. Just tell me what's up." Blaze said her usual stern fashion. "Don't ask me. Ask him." Sonic said as he pointed to the commander on the video screen. "Why did you wish to see us Mr. Commander?" Cream asked politely while holding Cheese. "Blaze, Cream, I have a mission of the utmost importance for you." the Commander said seriously. "I can understand me, but why do you want her?" Blaze asked, referring to Cream. "This mission will require both your skills. A representative for a nearby fishing town will arrive in Soleanna. I want you two to guard him and show him the sights." The commander instructed. "So in other words, you want us to be tour guides." Blaze said. "That's one way of putting it. If everything goes well, the town will provide us with its resources during troubled times. So don't fail." The commander said. "Yes, sir!" Blaze and Cream saluted.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Egg-Carrier III was currently floating across the Atlantic Ocean with Eggman sitting at the controls. Just then, Metal Sonic walked in the through the sliding doors and closed behind him. The tension mounted as the room was filled with an unnerving silence. "You wanted to see me?" Metal broke the silence. "You know something about that creature that attacked Station Square yesterday. Tell me what you know." Eggman demanded with his back still turned to Metal. "What makes you think I know anything, Eggman?" Metal asked. Eggman grinned as he turned to Metal and answered. "Because I know you, Metal." Seeing as how Eggman would find out eventually, Metal decided to give in. "His name is Nazo. I don't know much, but what I do know is that he holds a strong connection to the chaos emeralds." Metal admitted, though partially lying. He knew more about Nazo then he was letting on. "And how did you meet him?" Eggman asked. "I battled him and lost...terribly." Metal admitted. Eggman was shocked. It took Sonic, Shadow, and Silver in their super forms to defeat Metal Sonic in his current state. Just how powerful was this creature?

Just as Eggman was about to ask how he was defeated, Bokkun suddenly flew and yelled "EGGMAN!" Bokkun was flying too fast and smacked into Eggman, causing the doctor to fall over in his chair. "Bokkun! What have I told you about using that jetpack inside the ship?!" Eggman yelled while holding the small annoyance in his hand. "But Eggman, I've got something to tell you!" Bokkun screeched. "Can't you see I'm in the middle of a..." Eggman trailed of when he noticed Metal was gone. "Fine. What is it?" Eggman asked. "Mecha told me to tell you that the heroes are going to meet a representative from a fishing town." Bokkun informed. "Really now? Ho-ho, this could work to our advantage." Eggman smiled evilly. "Huh?" Three question marks appeared above Bokkun. "If we want to take over the world, we have to start small and work our way up." Eggman said. "Wow, Doctor, you're so smart." Bokkun said. "Yes, I am." Eggman gloated. "So who are you sending this time?" Bokkun asked. "No one. It's been a long time since I had any fun." Eggman chuckled.

* * *

Cream and Blaze sat down at the fountain of the central plaza in the town of Soleanna. Even though she did not remember her the Solaris incident like Silver and Mephiles, Blaze felt somewhat familiar to this place. "Ms. Blaze, who is it that we are looking for?" Cream asked while petting her chaos on her lap. "I don't know, but the commander said he would be easy to find." Blaze said. "What's his name?" Cream asked. "His name is Big." Blaze said awkwardly, feeling strange about the name. But then, out of nowhere, a small, bug-eyed frog landed on Blaze's head. "Huh?" Blaze said in confusion. "Froggy!" They heard someone shouting. The two females looked over to see a large, violet cat with darker stripes on his arms and tail. He wore simple light brown gloves, tan sandals, and a large belt. "Froggy!" the cat cried. The large cat jumped to grab the frog, but frog jumped away. Big fell flat on his stomach, crushing Blaze in the process. The frog jumped into Cream's arms and the frightened girl ran to the cat's side. "Ms. Blaze, are you ok?" Cream asked. "What do you think?" Blaze muffled voice said under the fat.

Blaze tried to claw her way out from under the monstrous fat and was finally able to get her upper half out. Blaze gasped for air as if her life depended on it. "You have no idea how angry I am." Blaze growled in a low voice. "Excuse me mister, but your crushing my friend." Cream said in her usual polite manner. But on sight of the frog in Cream's hands, the large cat reached out and grabbed the frog, yelling "Froggy!" 'Not a very bright one, is he?' Blaze mentally cursed herself as she continued to claw her way out from under the cat. "Excuse me, but who are you?" Cream asked. "Hi, I'm Big." The cat said stupidly. "Obviously, you overgrow fa..." "I think his name is Big." Cream interrupted Blaze's rant. Blaze's face deadpanned after that. 'This is the representative. They must not have had a lot of choices.' Blaze thought as she finally escaped with a snap. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Big." Cream politely bowed. "Yeah, whatever. Listen, we are supposed to watch you for the day. So don't wander off, got it!" Blaze ordered. "Ok." Big said stupidly. 'This is going to be a long day' Blaze thought.

"And over there would be the palace of Soleanna, home to its current ruler, Princess Elise the 3rd." Blaze pointed out as she continued her tour of Soleanna. "So, you understand so far?" Blaze asked Big. Blaze awaited her reply from the cat, but received none. "I said do you understand?" Blaze asked again as she turned back to him. But when she looked back, she found that neither Cream nor Big were with her. "Aah! Where'd they go!? Don't tell me I lost them!" Blaze panicked. "See, I told you could see the ocean from up here." Blaze heard Cream's high-pitched voice nearby. Blaze looked over to see Cream and Big standing on top of the guardrail of a nearby cliff. "Aah! Cream, no! Get down from there!" Blaze screamed as she ran at the two. "Let's go to the beach." Cream suggested. "Ok." Big agreed. Cream and Big walked perfectly across the guard rail as Blaze made a jump for them. She missed and was now floating over a thirty foot cliff with the ocean below her. "You have got to be kidding me." Blaze said. Blaze fell down the cliff and landed in the water...hard.

"I had no idea Ms. Blaze liked to swim." Cream said naively. Cream and Big were sitting at the beach with Big trying to fish Blaze out of the water. "Maybe she wants to play with the fishes." Big said stupidly. When Big felt a tug on the line, he started to reel his catch in and, amazingly, pulled Blaze out of the water by her shoe. "It's so good we found you, Ms. Blaze." Cream said happily. Too bad Blaze didn't share the same feelings. She had the most threatening scowl that would he scare Nazo. "You two, sit!" Blaze ordered. "Huh?" Cream and big questioned. "I said SIT!!!" Blaze screamed this time. Fearing what Blaze might do to them, they obediently dropped on their butts, many items jumping from Big's weight. "I have had enough of this. I am just trying to do my job and you aren't making it any easier." Blaze pointed to big. "But..." "Shut up!" Blaze interrupted. "All I want to do is get this over with. And I swear, if one more thing happens, I am going to blow." Blaze said in a huff and turned back to the ocean. "Uhh...Ms. Blaze?" Cream spoke up. "Yeah?" Blaze asked. "Eggman is kidnapping Mr. Big." Cream informed. Blaze instantly turned back to see that Big was missing and Eggman was carrying him away in his Egg-mobile. "I'm gonna kill that Egg-head!" Blaze cried of venomously.

"Whee! Look, Froggy, we're flying." Big cheered in happiness as Eggman floated away with Big grappled at the bottom. "This guy is the representative of the fishing town?" Bokkun questioned. "They must not have had a lot of choices." Eggman said. "That's exactly what I said." A voice came from behind them. "Huh?" Eggman and Bokkun questioned as they turned to face the direction of the voice. They turned to find Blaze as she jumped from the roof of a nearby building and shot straight at them. Blaze ignited her hands with her pyrokinetic powers and clawed her way through the chain like a hot knife through butter. As Big fell to the ground Cream ran to him under she was directly under him. "Don't worry, Mr. Big, I got you!" Cream said before taking a moment to realize the situation. "What am I? Crazy?" Cream quickly dived out of the way just in time to avoid being flattened by Big's body weight. "Grr. You'll pay for that, you hotheaded fur ball!" Eggman shouted. "I would like to see you try." Blaze challenged. "Grr. Black clones, attack!" Eggman ordered. On command, eight black clones jumped from behind the building and charged at the female heroes.

Blaze ducked down to avoid a black clone that jumped at her and swung around to kick the clone into the fountain. One black clone brought its claw down, But Blaze flipped back to land on the edge of the fountain. One black clone walked up to her as the one in the fountain jumped at her with its claw held forward. "Come on. Surely you can do better then that." Blaze taunted the two. Both black clones swung their claws at the pyrokinetic cat, but Blaze easily flipped back over the clone behind her. The two clones clawed through each other and reduced each other to puddles. "Hah! This is just too easy." Blaze chuckled. Unfortunately for her, she did not see the black clone behind her until it wrapped its arms around to capture her. "Gotcha now!" One clone shouted as it ran in for the kill. Thinking fast, Blaze pushed of the ground to flip over, causing the attacking black clone to kill its ally. "My turn!" Blaze shouted. Blaze ignited her hands with her pyrokinetic powers and ran past the clone with lightning speed. They stood there for a moment before the black clones head fell off and was reduced to a puddle.

Cream scarcely ducked and dodged as the black clones came at her left and right with no chance to fight back. Out of everyone in the hero group, she had the least experience in fighting. In other words, she was a sitting duck. "Hahaha. This is way too easy." One black clone said as it Cream by her little leg and hung her in the air. "Alright, let's end this." the black clones said as they gathered around. "Chao!" Cheese screamed. Unfortunately, the chaos was easily tossed aside and thrown to the wall. "Cheese!" Cream cried. "Hey, I got an idea. Why don't we kill that pest first?" One clone laughed. "Don't you dare!" Cream screamed. Cream suddenly flapped her ears to float in front of the clone holding her to kick its head off. "What the?" the clones questioned simultaneously. Cream then charged at two clones and kicked them in the face. The clones were sent flying and splattered all along the walls. "All right, you little brat, time to teach you a lesson!" the last clone yelled. The clone swung its claw down to the rabbit, But Cream flew up just before it could hit. The clone was able to look up just in time to see Cream stomp her feet into its face and pound it to the ground, reducing it to a puddle.

"Are you ok, Cheese." Cream asked her poor little chao. 'Amazing. I had no idea Cream was that strong. Her fighting spirit must come from when others are in danger. She an unpredictable one, that girl.' Blaze thought. "I must say, that was very impressive, but the fun is not over. Time for you two to meet my latest creation." Eggman stated. Just then, the ground suddenly shook until it burst open. From beneath the ground came a gigantic steel scorpion. "Behold, the Egg-Scorpion!" Eggman shouted. "It doesn't matter, because in a moment it will be a pile of scrap." Blaze said as she ignited her hands once more and jumped to the steel monstrosity. Unfortunately, the Egg-Scorpion opened its mouth and fired a stream of sand from inside. The sand didn't hurt Blaze, but it did extinguish the flames on her hands. "What the?" Blaze questioned. Taking advantage of Blaze's shocked state, the Egg-Scorpion raised its tail and slammed down of Blaze to crush her into the ground. The Egg-scorpion removed its tail to reveal a battered Blaze indented to the ground.

"Ms. Blaze!" Cream cried. "Time to end this. Attack, Egg-scorpion!" Eggman commanded. The Egg-scorpion raised its tail once more over its head and swung it straight down to Blaze. Just as it would seem that she was finished, the tail suddenly stopped. "What?!" Eggman yelled. After taking a closer look, Eggman noticed a fishing line connected to the Egg-scorpions tail. "Nobody hurts my friends." Big said. "Mr. Big!" Cream cheered. "Enough of this. Egg-scorpion, finish him instead." Eggman ordered. The Egg-scorpion released its tail from the fishing line and swung it directly at Big. But, to everyone's surprise, Big caught it. "What?!" Eggman screamed. In an impressive feat of strength, Big then lifted the Egg-Scorpion of the ground and started spinning it around in circles before releasing it to the direction of the ocean. The Egg-scorpion fell into the water and a second later, a large explosion came from where it landed. "Grr. This isn't over, you meddlesome heroes!" Eggman proclaimed as he turned tail and flew away. "Wait for me!" Bokkun cried as he chased after the doctor.

An hour later, Blaze was fully healed from her battle and stood in front of Big with her head bowed down to him. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I was just frustrated about the recent events that had happened. I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you." Blaze apologized. "Aww, it's ok." Big said happily and wrapped Blaze into a bone breaking hug. "Ow! Personal space! Personal space!" laze screamed. Blaze finally broke out from the hug and held out a small communicator with the Sonic Heroes symbol on it. "Big, because of your bravery, I think it's only fair if we made you an hororary member of our team." Blaze said, suprisingly cheerful. Big gratefully took the communicator and yelled a loud cheer. "(Chuckles) Well, we have some time left. Why don't we go down to the beach?" Cream suggested. Cream and Big gave Blaze the puppy dog eyes, hoping she would say yes. "Ok. It's not like we have anything better to do." Blaze said. "Yay!" Cream and Big cheered as the made a run for the beach. 'It feels like I'm babysitting a bunch of children. But, for some reason, it doesn't bother me.' Blaze thought. "Hey guys, wait up." Blaze called out while chasing after the two.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the Egg-Carrier III, Mecha was headed for Metal's secret chamber when a strange light emitted from the creases of the secret door. "What in the world?" Mecha questioned. Mecha placed his hand on the wall to open the secret door into Metal's private chamber. The four mechs were in their usual place while Metal stood in the center of the room with the time stones floating above his head. The time stones seemed to be reacting to something as they glowed on and off every ten seconds. "What just happened?" Mecha interrogated. "I've done it." Metal said. "Done what?" Mecha asked. "I have learned bend the time stones to my will through the power of the chaos emerald." Metal said as he held out the yellow chaos emerald. "So does that mean you will be going home?" Mecha asked. "Unfortunately, no. The time limit is still active. I can only travel back and forth between five years. But in two more days, the time limit will expire." Metal said. "You do realize you have to tell Eggman before then." Mecha said. Metal stared intently at his darker counterpart and said "I know."

* * *

**A new member has joined the Sonic Heroes. Will this new addition change the outcome of the war? Metal prepares to reuturn home. But the question, where and when is his home? Stay tuned to find out**

**Please, read and review.**


	12. The Butterflies and The Bees

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic or Naruto, just the OC's

Chapter Twelve: The Butterflies and The Bees

It was midnight in Station Square, but things were far from peaceful. Lurking in the shadows, five mask men snuck around the corner until they reached the front of a local jewelry store. "All right boys, do your thing." The leader told them. One of the masked men leaned against the door and slowly cut a hole into the glass. The masked man reached in through the hole and unlocked the door to enter inside the store. "All right, let's hurry up and grab everything you can. We don't want any slip ups." The leader said as he made his way over to the case with a very large diamond inside. "This puppy will score big on the black market." The man chuckled. He placed a discharger box on the case to shut off the cases security system and remove it. "Now, come to daddy." The man snickered as he made a reach for the diamond. But just before he reached it, a random shuriken came from out of nowhere and cut him off. "Sorry, store's closed." Just then, Espio appeared in the center of the room, Charmy flew down from the ceiling, and Vector...crashed through the wall. "I'm not paying for that." Espio said. "Team Chaotix, scatter!" the leader screamed and made a run for the door.

"Oh no, you don't. You're not going anywhere." Espio stated. The chameleon ninja pulled out three shuriken from the compartments on his cuffs and threw them in the direction of the escaping criminal. The shuriken clearly missed him, but they were never intended to hit him. The shuriken were flipped around the criminal and entrapped him in a web of string. "You boys really though you could get away with this?" Vector said. One of the masked men held a steel pole in his hand and swung down on the crocs head. Fortunately, Vector's head was too hard to feel ant damage. "Hah! Nice try." Vector said as he grabbed by the man by his neck. "Man, I knew this would have happened. I should have just listen my mother and become a dentist." Another masked man said. "Yeah, because dentist's are really scary." The man looked up to see Charmy fly over his. Charmy pointed his stinger at the man and shouted "Geronimo!" it was the most painful and pointy thing that guy had ever felt in his life. "This is our chance. Let's go." The leader whispered to the last of his partners and slowly snuck out of the front door unnoticed by Team Chaotix.

"What about the others?" the man asked. "Forget about them. Just keep running!" the leader shouted. "I guess it's true what Kakashi said. "Those who abandon their friends are worse then scum." A mysterious voice said. "W-who's there?" the masked man stuttered. Just then, a vial of purple powder fell from out of nowhere and shattered open all over the two. Two figures then jumped into the purple cloud. The sounds of fighting came from inside the cloud until the two criminals were thrown out of the cloud. "That was two just too easy." The other figure said. Back at the jewelry store, Espio was making himself busy by tying up the three criminals they had captured while Charmy and Vector were looking for the missing two. "I don't see them anywhere, Espio." Vector said. "Keep looking. I know they are around here somewhere." Espio said. "But they could be anywhere." Charmy complained. Just then, the two criminals fell in between the three, tied up in rope. "Or they could just be right here." Espio said. "You three wouldn't happen to be looking for these guys, would you?" Team Chaotix looked over to see Recter, Howl, and Raine of Team Virtex.

"Thank you for your assistance. But one question though. Who are you guys?" Espio asked. "I am Recter Rose, leader of Team Virtex. These are my partners, Howl and Raine." Recter introduced them. "I thought you looked familiar. Your Amy's big brother, the one who's trying to kill Sonic." Vector said. "Speaking of whom, there wouldn't be anything that a dirty little rat is doing anything with Amy that I should know about, is there?" Recter interrogated. "Sorry, but we really have to be going. Let's go Charmy." Espio said as he and Vector made their way to the door, but Charmy wasn't following. "Charmy?" Charmy was standing in the same place, staring with wide eyes at the medic of Team Virtex. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. The beauty of her graceful movements, and her eloquent wings. She was perfect. "Come on, let's move, Charmy!" Vector exclaimed as he grabbed the dazed bee and hauled him over his shoulder and carried him out of the store. Espio and Recter glanced at each other for a moment. They both knew what was going on.

* * *

The next day, Charmy was leaning against the kitchen table, staring out to space with a huge smile on his face. "What's with Charmy? He's been acting like that ever since the robbery last night." Vector said walked over to Espio on the couch. "Hmph! And here I thought you were supposed to the king of romance." Espio chuckled. "I don't get it." Vector said. "Isn't it obvious? Charmy has a crush on Raine." Espio stated. "The butterfly? But he hardly even knows her." Vector said. "Ever heard of love at first sight?" Espio said with a bored expression. "All right. As Charmy's friends, I will do everything within my power to make that butterfly fall for our little Charmy!" Vector stated. "Oh no, you don't! Remember what happened last time you played matchmaker!" Espio exclaimed as he jumped off the couch. "Hey, last I matched six couples up." Vector protested. "And five of them are divorced." Espio said. "Well, there's still the last couple." Vector said. "They were cousins!" Espio replied. "I don't care what you say, but I am going to match Charmy up, one way or another!" Vector stated and stomped over to Charmy. "Here we go again." Espio sighed in disappointment. 

"Hey, Charmy!" Vector screamed, causing Charmy to lose balance and fall on his face. "Yeah? What is it?" Charmy asked. "Is it true that you like that butterfly girl?" Vector asked. Charmy's face instantly turned red and started playing with his fingers. "W-well, m-maybe a little." Charmy stuttered. "Good! Because I'm gonna help you score a date with her." Vector said. "Really?!" Charmy screamed happily. "See this?" Vector held out a flyer. "There's going to be a fair tomorrow to honor the leaving of the Little Planet. With my help, you will have the guts to ask her." Vector assured him. "Really?" Charmy asked. "Of course. I have over a hundred plans on how to get a date." Vector said as he held up a little black book. "If that's true, then why can't you get one yourself?" Espio questioned. "Oh, and you have a better idea?" Vector growled. "Actually, I do. Just ask her. Don't waste your time trying to impress her. It will only backfire." Espio said. There was an awkward moment of silence as Charmy and Vector looked at their friend with a look that clearly said 'are you crazy?' "Uh...I think I'll stick to Vector's plans." Charmy said. "That's the spirit, buddy!" Vector cheered. 'He has no idea what he's gotten himself into.' Espio thought.

It was a nice and sunny summer day in Station Square. Raine was wandering the city streets, making her way to the park like she did everyday when Team Virtex didn't have a job to do. Howl went to visit a friend from his from his home country and Recter...she had no idea where Recter was. Raine arrived at the park and floated down to sit in her favorite ring of flowers as she lay down to enjoy the calming breeze. Unknown to her, Vector and Charmy were hiding in a bush nearby while Espio sat on the bench. "Espio get down! She'll see you!" Vector whispered. "She doesn't even know who I am." Espio replied. "Eh, good point. Now Charmy, take this flowers and give them to Raine. Then, when she done swooning over them, ask her about herself and ask her to the fair." Vector said as he held out a bouquet of flowers. "Ok." Charmy smiled as he took the flowers and flew over to Raine. "Vector, where did you get those flowers?" Espio asked suspiciously. "Down by the river." Vector answered. "The one near our base?" Espio asked. "Yeah." Vector replied. "Uh oh." Espio commented.

Raine was enjoying the breeze until she noticed Charmy flying over to her with the bouquet of flowers in his hands. "Hey, I know you. You're Charmy, right?" Raine asked. "Uh...yeah." Charmy said uncomfortably. He then remembered the flowers in his hands. "Oh, these are for you." He handed her the flowers. "Oh, they're beautiful." Raine commented happily. But then she noticed some black insects crawling around them. "Hey, those look like..." She screamed when a horde of leeches jumped out of the flowers and attached themselves to her skin. "Uh...what a surprise." Charmy chuckled nervously. Raine then pulled out a vial from her jacket and spilled silver powder all over him. In three seconds flat, Charmy's face turned green and rushed over to the nearest garbage can to barf. "Eww." Vector commented. "Stomach virus." Espio stated. "No worries. I still have ninety-nine more plans to go." Vector said. "And I got an idea too: I'm out of here." Espio said as he jumped off the bench and walked away. "Fine! Come on, Charmy." Vector said while removing Charmy from the garbage can.

Espio walked down the street and turned right to stray down a dirt path that led to the forest outside the city near Windy Valley. "I know I should help Charmy out of this situation, but he has to learn that he should have to impress Raine to get her attention." Espio mumbled to himself. "So it's true then. You're little bee friend has crush on my little sister." Espio looked up to see Recter up on a high branch, leaning against the tree. The red hedgehog jumped down from the tree to land in front of Espio. "Hey, Espio. I was just exploring then forest when I ran into you." Recter lied...terribly. "In other words, you were spying on me." Espio stated. "Yeah." Recter admitted. "Yes, Charmy has a crush on Raine. But unfortunately, Vector's trying to help him. So expect her to come home with a few scratches." Espio shook his head. "Well, it's a good thing that Raine's the medic. Otherwise I would have to beat your little friend to a pulp." Recter chuckled. "Speaking of that, why is it that you are overprotective of Amy and not Raine?" Espio questioned. "That's easy. Raine's a child and Amy's a teenager." Recter said like it was the simplest answer in the world. "But...on second thought, that makes a lot more sense." Espio nodded his head.

Just then, a barrage of shuriken came from out of nowhere and the two anthro's jumped away just in time to avoid them. "Who goes there?!" Recter shouted. Just then, twelve humans wearing basic black outfits with one sleeve missing and basic tan flak jackets. The most interesting feature of these men was the headbands that had metal plates attached with a pair of rocks etched in them. "Hidden rock ninja's? What are they doing here? Judging by their outfits, I would say they were jounin." Recter contemplated. "Why would rock ninja's be so far from their village?" Espio questioned. "We have been assigned to hunt down and assassinate the chameleon of the hidden leaf village, Espio." The leader of the group of ninja's said. Espio smirked as he lowered his cuff to reveal a metal plate like the ninja's only the symbol was shaped like a leaf. "Well, you certainly have many surprises." Recter commented. "If you have come all this way to find me, then we best not let the effort go to waste." Espio said as he pulled out a large shuriken from his cuffs. "Your fate is sealed." The leader said. The rock ninja's drew kunai from the pockets in their jackets and jumped at the two anthro's.

Raine took the last few minutes to pry the leeches from her skin and was now applying the healing liquid on the marks. Meanwhile, Vector and Charmy were watching from the bushes. "Ok, Charmy this is are last chance. You know what to do?" Vector asked. "Yeah, you pretend to be a bad guy and I save Raine." Charmy said. "All right, let's get started." Vector said as he put on a ridiculous looking mask. "Stupid bee. I should just beat him up next time I see him." Raine mumbled. Just then, Vector jumped out in front of Raine, wearing the mask. "Haha! Be afraid, little girl. For I, a bad guy, am here to kidnap you!" Vector proclaimed. 'Now this is just pitiful.' Raine thought. "Don't worry, Raine. I'll protect you!" Charmy yelled as he jumped in front of the white butterfly. "Or, I could just do this." Raine pulled out the silver powder from her jacket and splashed it on the two. "Not again." Charmy said as his face turned green. Vector and Charmy clutched their stomachs and ran to the nearest trash can they could find. "Well that didn't work, but don't worry. I have ninety-eight more plans left." Vector said. Charmy didn't reply. "Charmy?" Vector turned to see that Charmy was nowhere in sight.

"Man, I am running out of stomach virus powder. I need to make some more when I get home." Raine said. She hovered into the air and was prepared to fly back home when Charmy hovered in front of her. "Haven't you already caused enough trouble for one day?" Raine huffed as she turned her back to him. "I'm sorry, but Vector thought it might help." Charmy admitted. "Help with what, ruining my day off?" Raine scowled. "No! I mean...I did all this because I wanted to impress you." Charmy said. "Impress me?" Raine raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I wanted to impress you because I think you really pretty and...I wanted to know if you would..." Charmy hesitated for a moment. "...if you would...like to go to the fair tomorrow...with me." Raine turned to Charmy in surprise and blushed slightly at the bee say she was pretty. "Well, if you wanted to go with me, you should have just asked." Raine said. Charmy slapped himself in the face. If he had just listened to Espio in the first place, he could have avoided this whole thing. "So does that mean you'll go with me?" Charmy asked hopefully. "Of course." Raine said as she gave a peck on Charmy's cheek. "YAHOO!!!" Charmy cheered to the heavens.

Back with Espio and Recter. Recter punched his fist into one of the rock ninja's stomach to knock him unconscious. Eleven of the rock ninja's were scattered along the forest ground, battered and beaten, while Espio had one ninja tired to a tree. "That was entertaining, but now lets get down to business." Recter said as he threw the unconscious ninja to a tree. "Yes, now...start talking. Who was the one that sent you?" Espio interrogated the ninja. "I won't tell you, no matter what you do to me!" the rock ninja stated. Recter the punch his fist into a nearby tree and completely destroyed it. "Are you sure you don't want to reconsider?" Recter threatened. "Look, I don't know who sent us, but what I do know is...she looks a lot like you." the ninja said to Espio. 'It can't be...' Espio thought. A silhouette of an unknown female appeared in the back of Espio's mind. She and Espio had the same eyes, only hers were full of hatred. "_...I swear, I will become stronger and kill you..."_ "I've heard of her. She is supposed to be an s-class criminal listed in the bingo book. But I thought she was dead." Recter said. "She doesn't die that easily. After all...she is my sister." Espio said.

* * *

Back at the Egg-Carrier III, Metal was sitting in the center of his private chamber, meditating, as the time stones and the yellow chaos emerald floated above his head. Mecha walked inside and stood in front of Metal. "The time limit of the time stones will expire tomorrow. I have found the perfect place to activate the stone to open the rift." Mecha reported. Metal broke from his meditative position and asked "And that would be?" "The Little Planet." Mecha said. "Hahaha. No matter how hard I try to leave the past behind, I find that I can never truly escape." Metal chuckled. Metal's glowing eyes wandered to the four loyal mechs that were lined against the wall of his chamber. "But no matter. Soon, the heroes will fall at the hands of the Metal Squadron." Metal proclaimed.

* * *

**Charmy has found love and hopefully it will last. Who is Espio's sister? Why does she want to kill him? And what is this Metal Squardron? Stay tuned to find out.**

**Stay tuned to find out.**


	13. Silver's Future, Part 1

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sonic characters, just the OC's

Chapter Thirteen: Silver's Future, Part 1

In the area of the great Never Lake, the Little Planet high above the lake as an evil plot that could change the course of history began to unfold. Standing directly on top of the water was Metal with the time stones as the chaos emeralds floating above his head. Standing near the shore, Eggman, Mecha, and Violet were waiting semi-patiently for Metal to actually use the time stones. "Metal, are you sure those time stones will actually work. If you remember correctly, I tried to use the time stones three years ago, but they didn't work." Eggman commented. "You are an even bigger fool then I thought, Eggman. The reason the time stone wouldn't was because you didn't try to control them with chaos. Only with chaos can you truly activate their powers. How do you think I got to this time period?" Metal said. "But are you sure this plan will work?" Violet asked. "Violet, this is me we are talking about. Once I return to my original time period, I will seek out my creator and begin my plans." Metal said. "Let's just hope it works." Mecha said silently. "Oh, and by the way, we have guests." Metal informed.

Early in the morning, the Sonic Heroes received an urgent message from the G.U.N. Commander about Eggman being spotted near Never Lake. Unfortunately since most of the heroes were away on missions, Silver, who still had a hole in his chest, and Blaze were forced to check it out. Silver and Blaze were looking over one of the large rocks and found Metal standing on top of the water while Eggman was watching. "There he is, just like the commander said." Silver whispered, fearing the enemy would find him in his weakened state. "Good, now the real question is how to proceed. Eggman is easy, but Metal will be difficult, especially with your injury." Blaze said. "Yeah." Silver held his hand over his bandaged wound. "Hey, something's missing here." Silver suddenly said. "What do you mean?" Blaze asked. "Do you notice anyone missing?" Silver questioned. Blaze looked back and still only saw the two villains. That's when it hit her. "Where are Mecha and Violet?" Blaze questioned. "Glad to see you missed us." At the sound of the Silver and Blaze quickly jumped over the rock just in time before it was smashed to rubble. The two turned to face Mecha and Violet, ready to kill the heroes. Metal looked back momentarily and ordered "Kill them." Then returned his attention to the time stones.

"You get the girl. I'll take the hedgehog." Mecha said. "Aww, you get all the fun!" Violet whined. Mecha made a jump for Silver as Violet extended her claw out to the pyrokinetic cat. Blaze flipped back with her amazing acrobatic skills and flipped up to land on one of the large rocks. "Come on. You'll have to do better then that." Blaze mocked. Violet was fumed and thoughtlessly extended her claw to crush the rock, just as Blaze had planned. Blaze jumped and landed on the differently colored Chaos' arm. Blaze ignited her claws as she came closer to the head and swung furiously at it. Unfortunately, Violet's head surprisingly opened up and entrapped Blaze's hand inside. "What...is...this?" Blaze questioned as she struggled to free her head from Violet's head. "Didn't you know? I'm not just made of pure chaos. I am made of pure _liquid_ chaos." Violet informed. All of a sudden, Violet detached her head (She grew a new one, of course) and encased Blaze inside a prison of violet colored chaos. "You just sit tight while Mecha finishes your boyfriends." Violet chuckled evilly. "You won't get away with whatever your doing!" Blaze stated. "Oh, but we already have." Violet said.

Silver levitated back as Mecha continuously swipes his claws at the spots where Silver once was. "What's wrong? Don't me the great Silver the Hedgehog is scared of a simple mech like me." Mecha mocked. "Not in the least!" Silver shouted. Mecha jumped at Silver with his claws out in front, but the grey hedgehog created a barrier to repel him. "Hmm. Trying to keep me out with that barrier, huh? That would work..." Mecha took a step forward and suddenly disappeared. "...If it wasn't for the fact that I can use chaos control." Mecha then appeared from behind Silver. The grey hedgehog attempted to turn and send the mech flying with a blast of psychic energy, but was stopped when Mecha pounded his metal claw into Silver's wound. "AAH!" Silver screamed in agonizing pain. "Attempting to fight me when you are still gravely injured from you previous fight against Nazo. You're not a very bright one, are you?" Mecha chuckled. Mecha reeled back his foot and kicked Silver to the side of the face, sending the grey hedgehog splashing in the spot near Metal was.

The time stone start to glow on and off at a rapid pace as Metal's yellow chaos emerald began to shine bright then it had ever been seen. "At last, the stones and the chaos emerald's energies are in perfect synchronization. Now to release their powers." Metal said. The Sonic copy raised his claws and held the chaos emerald within them. "CHAOS TEMPUS!" Metal shouted. The chaos emerald then shot out seven beams of light that struck the time stones surrounding it. The time stone began spinning around at a speed no ordinary person could see. In three seconds, a white vortex appeared in front of Metal. "Now, it's time for me to return home." Metal said. As Metal attempted to make his way to the vortex, he felt his foot being caught by something. He looked down to see the weakened Silver holding his leg. "I won't let you get away." Silver said weakly. Metal grasped the grey hedgehog by his mane and stared at him with interest. 'Hmm. I could use a distraction and he would be perfect for the job.' Metal thought. "Congratulations, Silver, I won't kill you." Metal said. "Huh?" Silver questioned. "Instead, we will be going home together." Metal said. Metal then threw Silver into the white vortex and follow close behind. Then, the vortex, the time stones, and the chaos emerald disappeared. "Silver? Silver!" Blaze screamed, but it was useless.

* * *

"Oh, my head. What happened?" Silver asked himself as he woke to find himself in a city he had never seen. It looked a lot like Metal City, only a lot more advanced. There flying cars, video screens in the sky, but the thing that caught his attention was that not only were humans and anthro's walking around, but aliens too. "Ok, what's going on here?" Silver questioned. "Look! It's Silver!" A girlish scream could be heard. Out of nowhere, several girls, human, anthro, and alien, jumped on Silver and started glomping him. The girls were obviously his fan club, which he had no idea why. Silver created a barrier to push the girls away and took off to the sky, much to the girl's disappointment. "Ok, that was weird." Silver said until he noticed he was flying. "Hey, I'm flying, but how?" he looked to the skies for answers. "The kinetic pulses in the atmosphere are stronger then usual." He then looked forward to catch a familiar sight. "Wait! That mountain, it's Iblis' lair. Then that means, I'm back in my own time period!" Silver concluded. 'Metal said he was going home, so why did he come here?' Silver mentally questioned. All of a sudden, a loud explosion was heard coming from a nearby district. "Look's like I'm about to find out." Silver said as he used his powers to fly over to the explosion.

The commotion was coming from a district jewelry store that had just been blown to pieces. Within the fires of the destroyed building stood three shadows as one of them walked out of the fire holding the yellow chaos emerald. The creature was Metal Sonic, only it wasn't the same one from before. Instead of the normal neo form that Silver and the other heroes have come to know, this Metal Sonic looked exactly like his CD form when he first fought Sonic. Three more Metal Sonic's stood beside the one with the chaos emerald and they all got down to their knees as their master arrived. Their master was riding Eggman's old Egg-mobile, but it wasn't the doctor we have come to know. The master looked exactly like Eggman, only most of his features were completely different. His ugly mustache was white and he wore silver goggle on top of his head with blue glasses beneath them. He wore a one-piece red jumpsuit along with black and yellow boots and coat. His was like Silver was Sonic's descendent; this man was the descendent of the original Eggman. His name was Eggman Nega.

"Master, we have successfully completed our mission." Metal #1 said as it held out the yellow chaos emerald to it master. "Excellent. Only six more and the world will know the true meaning of suffering." Nega said with an evil laugh that greatly surpassed Eggmans. All of a sudden, the chaos emerald floated out of Nega's hands and floated to the side. The futuristic egghead and his mechanical minions looked over to see Silver with the emerald in hand. "Well, if it isn't my arch-enemy, Silver the hedgehog." Nega stated. Silver's face deadpanned at the comment. "So we are...arch-enemies?" Silver asked. "Of course. Just like our ancestors, Sonic and the original Eggman! How could you not know that! We have been fighting for years!" Nega stated. "We...have?" Silver questioned. "How could you not remember?!" Nega cried, literally. "Wow. And all this time I thought Mephiles was my arch-enemy." Silver said out loud. "What?!" You think that this 'Mephiles' person were more evil then I, Eggman Nega?!" Nega yelled. "Uh...pretty much." Silver said bluntly. "Ooh, you'll pay for that. Metal Sonic's, attack!" Nega commanded.

The three Metal copies attacked the grey hedgehog on command. Silver, dodge the first one as it struck his claw into the ground. Unfortunately, the second used the first one as support and jumped up to kick Silver in the face. "Ow." Silver muttered while clutching his face. Silver looked jumped just in time as the third Metal copy dived bombed at the hero hedgehog. Silver back flipped three times and landed as the Metal copy crashed into the street, creating a crater in the process. "They may look like Metal, but they are defiantly not as smart or as skilled as him." Silver sniggered. Meanwhile, Nega overheard Silver and gave a curious look. 'What is he talking about? This is the first time I have ever used the Metal Sonic's against him. And who is Metal?' Nega questioned in his mind. "Come on. Is that really the best you got?" Silver mocked. "Scanning for target weakness!" Metal #4 stated. The Metal copy's eyes glowed brightly as it scanned around Silver's body before stopping at his chest. "Weakness identified! Activating attack mode!" Metal #4 stated. In a burst of speed, the Metal copy dashed over and punched Silver right where his wound was, forcing him to drop to his knees.

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen. You don't look so hot now, do you, Silver?" Nega cruelly laughed. 'ugh, I'm still too weak from Nazo's attack. I can't fight Metal, especially four of them.' Silver thought. "And know, to rid the world of my final obstacle. With Silver out of the way, nothing can stop my..." And Nega continued on and on. Guess long speeches run in the family. 'Why won't this guy shut up?' Silver complained in his mind. "No matter how many years pass, some things just never change." A familiar voice echoed down the street. "I know that voice." Silver whispered. Suddenly, Silver and the villains were surrounded by a gale of black wind. "What's happening?!" Nega screamed through the blast of strong wind. When the gale died down, the Metal copy was thrown back and two familiar black hedgehogs stood in front of Silver. "Shadow! Kumori!" Silver exclaimed in happiness. "Hey, Silver. Where have you been the past two hundred years?" Kumori giggled. "It's a long story." Silver chuckled, hurting his chest. "Explain later. For now, let us handle these clowns." Shadow smirked. "I'll show you clowns. Metal Sonic's attack." Nega commanded.

The four Metal Sonic clones jumped in simultaneously to attack the two black hedgehogs. Shadow smirked as an outline of red chaos surrounded his body and burst away him, knocking two of the metal copies back. "That's a little something I call Chaos Pulse." Shadow said. Kumori waited till the two other copies were directly above her. Kumori fell to the ground on her back and kicked the two mechs in the face to knock them into the air. "They don't make evil robots like they used to." Kumori chuckled lightly. "Don't just sit there! Destroy them!" Nega screamed. The Metal Sonic's sharpened their claws and shot lashed out at the ultimate life-forms in a blinding burst of speed. "Shall we, Shadow dear?" Kumori asked with a small grin on her face. "Yes, we shall." Shadow said with a grin equal to hers. The two hedgehogs grasped each others hands and closed their eyes to concentrate. Soon, a huge aura of red chaos engulfed their bodies until. "CHAOS BLAST!!!" The aura exploded from their bodies, destroying the Metal copies, but holding back enough to make sure that Silver wasn't harmed. "Wow. They are way stronger then the last time I saw them." Silver said with wide eyes.

"No! My robots!" Nega screamed in despair. "I would suggest you hightail it and run, Nega." Shadow suggested. "This isn't over, hedgehogs! I swear, I will be back and I will be more powerful then ever!" Nega screamed as he flew off in his Egg-mobile. "That guy never learns, does he?" Kumori said. Silver slowly and weakly got back to his feet. "It's good to see you without being in a medical ward, Shadow." Silver said. "You sure you don't mean it's good to see us after two hundred years." Shadow remarked. "Yeah, that." Silver chuckled. "It's so good to see you again, Silver. A lot of things have changed since two hundred years." Kumori said. "Yeah, I noticed." Silver said as he gazed around the city. "That's not what I meant." Kumori smiled. "Huh?" Silver questioned. After taking a closer look, Silver noticed that Shadow and Kumori were wearing...wedding rings. "Wait. Don't tell me...you guys are...married?" Silver asked with a shocked expression. "Yes! It was the happiest day of my life. I really wish you were there." Kumori squealed with glee. "I don't believe it. the great Shadow the Hedgehog finally got hitched." Silver joked. Shadow punched Silver's wound, forcing him to the ground. "Next time, think before you speak. Now, let's get those wounds healed." Shadow said. "Ok." Silver said with a high-pitched voice.

"I can't believe it. the one chance I have to defeat that meddlesome hedgehog, those two have to interrupt. Oh, how I hate hedgehogs." Nega mumbled angrily as he floated back to his base in the mountain that was once Iblis' lair in an alternate timeline. But upon arriving at his base, he found his Metal Sonic robot that were guarding the entrance were destroyed. "What is this?" Nega questioned. Nega jumped out of the Egg-mobile and made his way to the entrance of the base. The steel doors were torn of their hinges. "I don't like this." Nega mumbled as he walked inside his base. As he walked farther into the base, he found that all the Metal Sonic robots were either clawed, decapitated, shredded, or a variation of the three. "What could have done this?" Nega questioned. "I see you decided not to stop at one, Nega." A new voice came from the shadows. The figure walked closer to the evil scientist, slowly revealing himself. "Who are you?" Nega asked. "I'm hurt, Nega. You don't remember your ultimate creation." The figure said as he walked into the light. "Metal Sonic?" Nega said, surprised by his creations changes. "I just go by Metal these days." Metal fully revealed himself. "It is good to see you again...my creator." Metal greeted his creator.

* * *

**The truth is revealed. Metal Sonic is the creation of Eggman Nega and the future is much different then expected. But why did Metal come back and what purpose does he have for Silver. Stay tuned to find out.**

**Please, read and review.**


	14. Silver's Future, Part 2

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sonic characters, just the OC's

Chapter Fourteen: Silver's Future, Part 2

Not a little while ago, Metal Sonic used the power of the legendary time stones to send him and Silver two hundred years into the future. Now, Metal confronts his creator, Eggman Nega, once more. "So you have returned, have you? You haven't responded to any of my temporal transmissions for the past three years. I figured that you had most likely been destroyed." Nega said. "You only half right. It's true that I was destroyed during my first encounter with that blasted hedgehog. I clearly underestimated him. It took me three years before I could fully recover." Metal explained, leaving out the part where he betrayed Nega's ancestor. "And what would be the cause of your sudden transformation?" Nega asked curiously. "I simply added my original programming with the programming for the Solaris Project." Metal explained. "Solaris Project? Never heard of it." Nega stated. 'Just as I had hoped for.' Metal thought. "Anyway, I have returned to you, master, and am here to assist you in the defeat of that cursed hedgehog." Metal said. "Well, in that case, follow me." Nega ordered and led Metal through a door on the other side of the room.

Nega pushed through the door to reveal a gigantic manufacturing line creating over a dozen Metal Sonic's at a time. "Hmm. So this is the place where I was created?" Metal said wondrously. "No. you were a special creation, Metal. I constructed you personally with the best components, making you faster, stronger, more agile, and more intelligent. In other words, you were my greatest creation." Nega bragged. 'He really is Eggman's descendent. He just keeps going on and on and on.' Metal mentally complained. "So, any idea's?" Nega asked. "None yet. But, if you will take three of these lesser mechs out to distract the heroes, I should be able to construct something to destroy them." Metal said. "Very well." Nega said. Nega walked up to the control console and pressed a random button. Three holes eroded from the floor and the Metal Sonic robots appeared. "I trust that you will be able to finish." Nega said. "I only exist to serve you." Metal said as he bowed to his creator. Nega walked out of the room with the mechs following behind and closed the door behind him. "If I still had my obedience chip, you ignorant fool." Metal said as soon as Nega was gone.

Metal walked up to the console and began accessing the files in Nega's private computer. "Access private data files." Metal commanded. The computer suddenly switched on and showed a folder on the screen, but was blocked by a password security wall. "Input password." The computer asked. Metal suddenly stabbed the keyboard and sent a surge of electricity into the computer. "Access granted." The computer said as it opened the file. "Access original Metal Sonic project designs." Metal ordered. The files opened to show Metal's original design that he was made from. Metal then stabbed the computer and pulled a large wire from inside and attached it to his head. "Download Metal Sonic designs." Metal ordered. "Initiating download...Download complete." The computer stated. Once he had the information in his head, Metal ripped the wire and destroyed the computer with an electric charge. "Good, everything is going according to plan. Now, to dispose of the infuriating hedgehog. It shouldn't be too hard to create something. After all, I have all the resources I need." Metal laughed as he grazed down at the mechs being constructed.

Meanwhile, Silver was taken to the new G.U.N. command center in the middle of Future City where he was taken to be healed. Thanks to the advancement of modern technology, Silver's major chest wound was reduced to a measly little scratch. Silver, Shadow, and Kumori were sitting around the infirmary as Kumori was telling stories of what happened since Silver had been gone. "I can't believe I missed that. So you saying Sonic actually got down on his knees and _begged_ Amy to marry him?!" Silver asked, followed up by a roar of insane laughter. "Yep. I told Amy playing hard to get would work and I was right." Kumori giggled. "And Recter approved of this?" Silver asked. "Hell no. Sonic and Amy were engaged for two years before they actually got married." Shadow chuckled. "Oh man, I can't believe I missed all this. Hey, what ever happened to Blaze?" Silver asked. Shadow and Kumori suddenly went silent and looked downcast. "Guys...what happened to Blaze?" Silver asked with worry and his friend's reaction. "Silver...after you disappeared, Blaze was killed by Violet." Shadow revealed. "What?!" Silver screamed. "We're sorry." Kumori said.

Silver couldn't believe this. His one true love was dead and it was his entire fault. All of a sudden, the alarms around the base went off. "What's happening?" Silver questioned. "Eggman Nega has been spotted in sector G-3. Special force team requested to stop potential threat." A woman over the loudspeaker said. "Look's like we're up. Let's go, Silver." Shadow ordered. "Right." Silver changed from depressed to serious and ran out with the other two. Out in the city, Nega was floating around as the three Metal Sonics destroyed the stores nearby. "If this doesn't get there attention, nothing will." Nega said. "You know, I could be easier just to call us." Nega looked to the top of an electronics store to find the three hedgehogs, just as he had planned. "You know, you're really slow for the fastest thing alive, Shadow." Nega mocked. "And you seem quite dumb for a so-called genius. Do you really think the same thing will work twice?" Shadow returned. "Oh, don't worry. I have something special up my sleeve. But for now, Metal Sonic's, attack!" Nega commanded. The Metal copies turned their attention away from their previous mission and charged forward to the hedgehogs. "They never learn, do they?" Shadow said.

Shadow and the other two hedgehogs jumped down from the rooftop to combat their opponents. The first Metal Sonic copy swung its claw at Shadow's head, which the black hedgehog easily ducked down and dodged. The copy then tried to kick Shadow from behind, only to have its foot caught. "Come on, I'm one of the legendary three. You'll have to do much better then that." Shadow stated. Shadow spun the mech around and slammed his fist through its chest to destroy it. The second Metal Sonic copy attempted to claw at Kumori, but the female hedgehog flipped the mech over her head and kicked it from behind. "Being married to Shadow, a girl has to be ready." Kumori said. The made a second attempt to attack, but Kumori ripped off its and was kicked its head off all in one swing. Silver was left to face the Metal Sonic copy. After the news he received earlier, he was clearly pissed off. "I've had enough of you for one day!" Silver shouted. The grey hedgehog held out his hands and forcefully gripped the copy with his psychokinetic powers. Silver was merciless as he ripped the mech apart, piece by piece.

The mech parts were scattered across the street as Nega started sweating up a storm. "You know, maybe it would be a good idea if I just left." Nega said. But before Nega could even make an attempt to escape, Silver used his psychokinetic powers to halt the Egg-mobile. "You're not going anywhere!" Silver explained. Silver clutched his hand and crushed the Egg-mobile, forcing Nega to the ground. "Look's like it's all over, Nega." Shadow said a he held a pair of laser handcuffs. But all of a sudden, Metal appeared out of nowhere and kicked Shadow away. "I knew you would save me, Metal." Nega said. "I am not here for you, fool." Metal said. "What?!" Nega exclaimed. "I was merely using you." Metal stated. "How dare you?!" Nega screamed. "Now that your job is done, it's my turn to take action." Metal said as he snapped his claws. Suddenly, a nearby tower was reduced to shambles as a new creature appeared before them. The heroes were surprised to find that the monster was...Metal Madness. "Amazing what a few spare copies can do. Metal Madness, destroy the black hedgehogs. Leave the grey one to me." Metal commanded. "Yes, master." Metal Madness replied.

Metal Madness lunged his claws at Shadow and Kumori, which the two hedgehogs easily jumped aside. Silver was about to join them when he was kicked to the side of the head. Silver groan as he sat up to see Metal only a few feet away from him. "I think you should be more concerned with me." Metal said. "You! This is all your fault!" Silver yelled. Using his psychic powers, Silver ripped over a dozen lamp posts and hurtled them at Metal. Just as they were only a foot away from the metallic menace, Metal's eyes lit up and the lamp posts stopped in midair. "Have you already forgotten? I have copied your data. All your abilities are mine." Metal stated. Using the copied psychic powers, Metal threw all the lamp posts back at Silver. Silver reacted quickly by creating a force field to repel the flying objects away. Just as he let his force field down, Metal came from out of nowhere and held his metallic claw over his head. "METAL SURGE!" Metal called out. Lucky for Silver, he jumped away just in time to dodge it. But then, Metal flexibly spun his foot around and kicked Silver to the wall. "Is that all you got?" Metal mocked. "Not even close!" Silver stated.

Metal Madness retracted his claws from the ground and stared with menacing eyes at the female black hedgehog standing atop of the building ahead of him. "I never once thought I would see your ugly mug again. Believe me, once is more then enough." Kumori chuckled. Metal Madness opened its jaw wide and fired a giant red beam at Kumori. With a surprised expression, Kumori quickly jumped to the air and over the beam. Kumori looked at the damage the beam had caused. The red beam not only went through the building she was on, but also the buildings that followed it. There was a large heated hole from where the beam struck. "Ok, that's different. Last time, Metal Madness could only use ice attacks." Kumori stated. "I am much different." Kumori finally realized that she was still in the air and Metal Madness was directly in front of her. Metal Madness' tail whipped around from the other side and slammed Kumori straight down into the pavement. Metal Madness lifted his tail and looked down at his battered opponent. Metal Madness opened his mouth to charge another heat beam until a series of yellow energy arrows exploded on the side of its face.

Metal Madness screeched in pain and looked over to where the attack came from to see who would dare to strike at him. It was Shadow as he snapped his fingers to summon up over two thousand yellow arrows of chaos around his body. "CHAOS BOMBARDMENT!" Shadow called out as the arrows left his side and drove themselves into Metal Madness. Upon making contact with Metal Madness, the arrow created a series of large explosions that blew off several pieces of Metal Madness' armor. "You'll pay for that!" Metal Madness screamed. Metal Madness swung his long spiked tail around and struck down on Shadow. In a split second, Shadow reached behind his back and pulled out a special G.U.N. gun and pressed a button on it to transform into a sword handle with a blade of yellow chaos. Shadow swung his blade upwards to sever the metal tail from the rest of the body. Metal Madness screeched in pain, giving Shadow the opportune moment to attack. Using the power of chaos control, Shadow vanished and then reappeared in midair in front of Metal Madness. Shadow reeled back his blade and cut Metal Madness straight down the middle, creating an explosion from its destruction.

Metal swatted away Silver's fist as they grey hedgehog attempted to fight him in hand-to-hand combat. Realizing Silver couldn't win with his powers, they grey hedgehog was forced to fight head on. "You don't really think you can win with those pathetic moves. Your form is way off balance." Metal stated. To prove his point, Metal pressed a finger on Silver's forehead as he attempted to make another hit. As Metal predicted, Silver was thrown off balance and fell flat on his back. "Give it up. Your abilities stand no chance against mine. I have used your powers to an extent that you cannot possibly imagine." Metal stated. "It's true that you may be able to use my powers better then me, but there is one thing I have that you could never copy." Silver said. "And that would be?" Metal asked. "The inability to give up. Look up." Silver said. Metal did as Silver asked a looked up to see a slag of stone hanging over his head. Silver waved his hands down and released the slag from midair. The slag fell on top of Metal and crushed him underneath the rubble. "Glad that's over." Silver sighed in relief. "Guess again." Metal's voice echoed from the rubble.

The rubble suddenly exploded and Metal was still standing, even after crushed. "I must admit, you are persistent. It doesn't matter now. Our time in this place has expired." Metal said. Just then, the time stones along with the yellow chaos emerald floated from behind Metal and over his head. "You had them the entire time?" Silver asked in surprise. "Yes. I knew we would need a way to get back home. Now, CHAOS TEMPUS!" Metal shouted. The chaos emerald then shot out seven beams of light that struck the time stones and created a white vortex behind Metal. "Time to go." Metal said. "You're actually letting me return?" Silver questioned suspiciously. "It wouldn't be much fun if I only had three hedgehogs to battle." Metal joked. "Go on, Silver." Silver looked back to see Shadow and Kumori along side an arrested Nega. "This is your chance. Use it to make things right and save Blaze." Shadow said. Silver smiled and nodded his head in acknowledgment. Silver and Metal exchanged a single glance before stepping through the vortex back home.

* * *

Back in the present, it had been only two seconds since Metal and Silver disappeared into the vortex. "Silver? Silver!" Blaze screamed. "It's too late, he's gone." Mecha said bluntly. "Now, to dispose of the trash." Violet said as she squeezed inside her chaos prison. Blaze cried out, but no hope seemed to arrive. Just as it had seemed to be the end, Silver came from out of nowhere and placed his hand on Violet's head. "PSYCHIC SCREW!" Silver called. Silver blasted a typhoon of energy that sent Violet flying, releasing Blaze in the process, and crashed into Mecha. "You filthy little rat!" Mecha exclaimed as he stood up. Mecha was prepared to charge at Silver until Metal appeared out of nowhere and blocked him off. "Metal?" Mecha asked. "The mission is complete. There is no reason to be here." Metal said. "Mecha was about to argue when he noticed the look in Metal's eyes. A look of killer intent. Realizing that there was no point in going against Metal's orders, Mecha raised his hand into the sky. "CHAOS CONTROL!" Mecha called out and all the villains disappeared in a flash. 

"What just happened?" Blaze questioned, still gasping for air after being trapped in Violet's prison for so long. "Well, it's a long story." Silver while giving the biggest smile Blaze had ever seen. Silver and Blaze spent to the next ten minutes resting on a boulder near Never Lake as Silver explained the events that went on. "Wow, that's some story. Although I do find it hard to believe that Shadow and Kumori will be married." Blaze said. "Believe me; I was just as shocked when I found out." Silver chuckled. "The future is such a curious thing." Blaze stated. Silver placed his hand on Blaze's and said. "There is no future without you, Blaze." Blaze chuckled. "Do you know how corny that sounds?" Blaze said. "Yeah." Silver said sheepishly. "But it's the thought that counts." Blaze whispered. Blaze cupped the side of Silver's face a brought him in for a deep and passionate kiss. Then two stayed that way for what seemed like hour, unaware that the Little Planet was still hanging over the lake.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Egg-Carrier III floated across the Atlantic Ocean, while Metal stood before Eggman, Bokkun, Mecha, and Violet. "So, did everything go according to plan?" Eggman asked. "Every single step. I have all the data of my original design up here." Metal emphasized by tapping his head. "So, shall be begin reconstructing your little soldiers." Mecha asked as he gazed to the side of the room where Metal's four mechanical minions stood across the wall. "No. without the proper DNA, they will not be able to perform as I had planned them to." Metal said. "What?! What do you mean we won't be able to reconstruct them?!" Eggman screamed furiously. "Just as Mecha and I were created from DNA, so will these four be reconstruct too." Metal said. "Can we just grab some DNA from the city?" Bokkun asked. "No! I have four specific types of DNA I wish to use." Metal stated. "Then all this as for nothing." Violet sighed. "Well...it wasn't a total lose." Metal said. the villains looked to him curiously. They then noticed that Metal still had the chaos emerald and the time stones floated above him. This battle was far from over.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the forest outside the town of Soleanna. A white vortex similar to the one Metal used appeared in the center of the forest. out of the vortex came a giant rock before the vortex closed. the rock just laid there, motionless. Then suddenly, the rock opened up to reveal two blood red eyes. A monsterous roar echoed throughout the forest.

* * *

**Metal and Silver return home, but Metal still has the time stones. What will Metal do with them? Who's DNA is he after? And what is this new creature that has appeared? Stay tuned to find out.**

**And don't miss my upcoming story, Resurrection**

**Please, read and review.**


	15. Time Twist

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sonic characters, just the OC's

**Note: Begins directly after Resurrection.**

Chapter Fifteen: Time Twist

It was only weeks ago when the heroes of the future defeated the queen of demons, Lilith. But even with Eggman Nega carefully under watch, no one could predict the coming of his next evil plan. The scene opens up to a frozen mountain area in the north of Future City. Trudging through the deep forest was a tall black machine with a body structure similar to Metal. The machine had claws on his hand and feet, six spikes on its back, a long, flexible tail, and a dragon head similar to Metal Overlord's. It appeared to be looking for something as it dug into the ground and found a box. As it opened the box, it discovered it had found what it was looking for: The Time Stones.

"Nega was right, they are here." The creature said as he clutched the stones. "Metal was foolish enough to leave these behind. Now with the time stones, I will go back in time to correct those mistakes I made so long ago."

"Wow, two hundred years hasn't good to you." the creature looked to the trees and found Sonic sitting lazily on the branch. "How've you been, Mecha?"

"Sonic..." The creature known as Mecha Shadow growled. "If you think you will defeat me this time, you are sadly mistaken. I have grown more powerful after two hundred years then you ever could in an eternity."

"Let's find out." Sonic smirked.

Sonic jumped down from the tree and zipped forward the moment he touched ground. With a flick of his wrist, Sonic created two small wrist blade of blue chaos from his cuffs. Sonic swung his blade across Mecha's chest...only to phase through him.

"Wha...?" Sonic said in a confused manner.

Taking advantage of the confusion, Mecha reached to grab Sonic by his head. Mecha swung the blue hedgehog over his shoulder and hurled him to the nearest tree. Sonic tried to stand up, but came in fast and grabbed the hedgehog by the throat to pin him down.

"As you can see, my speed has greatly surpassed yours." Mecha stated. Mecha lifted Sonic into the air and punched him through the tree. "Now if you don't mind, I have a little business to attend to." Mecha reached behind him to pull out the yellow chaos emeralds. The time stones reacted to the emerald and floated above his head. "CHAOS TEMPUS!"

The chaos emerald then shot out seven beams of light that struck the time stones surrounding it. the stones began spinning at a wild pace. Within a matter of seconds, a white vortex appeared before them.

"I would hate to fight and run, but a have an engagement with an old friend and would hate to miss it." Mecha said before he jumped into the vortex.

"Oh man. Shadow will kill me if I let him get away." Sonic said while moving closer to the vortex. "Well, I always wanted a vacation." He said before jumping into the vortex.

* * *

---**200 Years Before---**

As the white vortex opened, Sonic jumped down from and scanned his new surroundings. To much of his surprise, the former mountain region had transformed into a beach before his very eyes. As he looked down the coast, he spotted a small trace of civilization up ahead. Sonic climbed a random palm tree to get a better look. It was a town filled with many rivers going through it and the whole place seemed to be an inspiration to water.

"I wonder what that is." Sonic said. Sonic scanned his memories that formally belong to the original Sonic and found his answer. "I remember. That's Soleanna. It was like that before they changed it to Future City. Maybe I'll find Mecha there."

Sonic jumped down the tree and ran at breakneck speed to the water town. Meanwhile, Amy was also in Soleanna doing some shopping and had Knuckles, Jet, and Espio carry her many purchases.

"Maybe we should stop by the shoe store and see if they have anything on sale." Amy said giddily.

"Why are we doing this again?" Knuckles whispered to Jet.

""Because if we don't, Amy will get mad. And you know what she's like when she's mad." Jet whispered back.

"She'd kill us." Espio whispered.

"Hey! Are you three coming or not?" Amy shouted.

"Yes!" The trio shouted quickly as they ran to catch up with Amy.

"Well, you better hurry up." Amy said. "I am not just stand around all day waiting for you three to..." Amy was cut off when something ran into her and knocked her to the ground. The three males panicked in fear of one of Amy's anger assaults. "Hey, watch where you're going, you..." She stopped in mid-sentence when she saw it was Sonic. "Sonic!"

Amy wasted no time wrapping Sonic in her signature bone breaking hug. Since he did not experience such things in the future, Sonic came un prepared and was choking to death.

"Can't...breath." Sonic gasped out.

"Sonic, what are you doing here?" Amy asked as she let go. "Did you come to help shop with me?"

"Amy, I seriously doubt that's what he came here for." Espio said.

"_Amy? This is Sonic's wife." _Sonic thought.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Espio." Amy said. "Obviously Sonic came because he has feelings for me. Right, Sonic?"

"Amy? You're my wife, right?" Sonic asked.

Jet, Knuckles, and Espio instantly dropped all the stuff they were carrying and their jaws (beak, in Jet's case) literally fall to the ground. Amy reaction was different. The sparks in Amy's eyes grew so bright, it actually blinded Sonic.

"Oh, Sonic! Of course I'll be your wife!" Amy cheered as she hugged him again.

"_Wait, they're not married yet Guess this isn't that time period." _Sonic thought. Sonic felt someone tapping on his shoulder and looked back. It was Recter, who completely out of nowhere and cracked his knuckles. _"If I remember correctly, that is Recter. Sonic was afraid of him because..."_

Sonic stopped in mid-thought and nervously turned to Recter. Recter grabbed Sonic by the neck and pulled the blue hedgehog towards him. Amy and the guys covered their eyes as the sound of Fists flying and Sonic painful yelps could be heard. When the fighting had stopped, Recter had gone back home and Sonic was left with eight bumps on his head, six bruises, and one black eye.

"_This isn't as easy I thought it would be." _Sonic thought.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of the town. The scene takes place at a nearby jewelry store. Mecha, wearing a black clock, was standing in the center of the store. Of all the priceless jewels there, only one caught his attention.

"The white chaos emerald. Exactly as I remember it would be." Mecha said.

right in front of him, on a tall pedestal and covered by a glass case, stood the white chaos emerald. Mecha's eyes stood solely on the white jewel. Mecha reached out to grab it until.

"I see you are interested in only the finest crafted pieces."

Mecha looked over his shoulder to see the owner of the store.

"Yes, I am particularly interested in the chaos emerald." Mecha said.

"a chaos emerald? Why, I did not know." The owner said. "If I knew what it was, I would have placed a higher price."

"Has anyone bought it already?" Mecha asked.

"No."

"Then I'll take it." Mecha stated.

"Good. How will you be paying?" the owner asked.

"Who said anything about paying?" Mecha chuckled as his red eyes glowed brighter.

* * *

Back with the heroes, Amy was bandaging Sonic's injuries while the guys gathered around him with confused looks.

"What in the world were you thinking, Sonic? Do you have a death wish or something?" Knuckles asked. "You know how overprotective Recter is of Amy.

"How was I supposed to know he was here?" Sonic asked.

"You know, I can't put my wing on it, but there's something different about you Sonic." Jet said. Sonic was starting to lose his cool now. If they found out that he was a clone from the future, they would tear him to pieces and the future could be ruined. Jet moved in closer to examine him and suddenly said. "I know. You got a new haircut, didn't you?"

Sonic facefaulted to the ground.

"Yeah...let's go with that." Sonic said.

"No, I don't think it's a haircut. Besides, he doesn't have hair." Espio stated.

"Espio is right." Amy said sternly. "You're hiding something, Sonic. And I want to know what."

_Great, now what do I do?" _Sonic mentally asked himself. As the other back him into a corner, a sudden explosion from the other side of town redirected their attention. _"Saved by the explosion."_

Taking this opportunity, Sonic used his super speed to escape from the others and make his way to the wreckage.

"Sonic, get back here!" Amy yelled.

Amy used here own super speed to chase after Sonic. The guys looked at each other and shrugged. They gladly dropped all of Amy's stuff and race after the speedy hedgehogs. When the heroes arrived, they ducked down behind a pile of rubble and looked over their target. They found that Mecha had discarded his clock and held the chaos emerald in his hand.

"Hahaha! Finally! Only six more and I shall have my revenge against Metal." Mecha stated.

"Revenge? Do you think Eggman created this thing to destroy Metal for betraying him?" Espio asked.

"I don't know and frankly, I don't care." Jet said. "I saw we sneak up, catch him in a surprise attack, and take that emerald. What do you say, Sonic." No response. "Sonic?" The others looked over to see that Sonic was gone. "Where'd he go?"

"Yo, Mecha!" Mecha turned to see Sonic standing only a few feet from him. "How about you stop playing around and start getting serious."

"So much for a surprise attack." Espio said.

The other four jumped out of their hiding spot and decided to join Sonic on the battle field.

"_I remember this day." _Mecha thought. Mecha's eyes shifted to a nearby building. Standing at the top of the building was himself, two hundred years ago. _"Even if I fail, I will succeed." _"Now, time for all of you to die."

Sonic and Jet jumped forward at Mecha. Sonic throw a kick and Jet used his fans, but Mecha blocked with his steel enforced tail. Mecha whipped his tail to knock them back and slung it around to block Amy's hammer from behind.

"Attacking for behind? How pathetic." Mecha said.

Mecha wrapped his tail around Amy and started to tighten it to squeeze the life out of Amy. Mecha smiled evilly until Espio threw a set of kunai at him. They didn't do anything, but they did distract him long enough to allow Amy to escape. Once Amy was in the clear, Espio began forming a series of hand signs. Espio inhaled a might breath of air and shouts

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

Espio exhaled a large fireball from his mouth and completely covered Mecha within the flames. Espio smiled confident over his victory until Mecha's tail shot out of the flames and whipped Espio away. Mecha knew that he had won until he realized that Knuckles was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, Knuckles popped out of the ground and landed a mighty blow that dented Mecha's chest.

"Hah!" Knuckles boasted.

"Hahaha! You are even more pathetic then I remember." Mecha laughed.

Mecha raised his claw and whacked Knuckles into the air. Mecha turned his back for a moment before jumping backwards into the air. Mecha stretches the spikes on his back and cages Knuckles inside.

"METAL THUNDER!" Mecha yells.

Mecha released a surge of electricity through his spikes and shocks Knuckles in the process. Mecha turned to throw Knuckles to the ground. But before he did, he strangely pulled on Knuckles quill before letting him go. When Mecha touched ground again, he glanced to his past self, who was still watching.

"_Even if I win, I must make sure nothing is altered." _Mecha thought.

When, the heroes tried to stand up, Mecha charged forward to attack. Mecha threw his claws at Amy, Jet, and Espio to grab them and throw them into the air before tossing them away with his tail. Strangely enough, he had completely passed Sonic when he had the chance. Mecha looked into his claw and smiled with evil satisfaction. But while he was distracted, he did not notice Sonic as he curled into his ball form.

"Hey, don't forget me!" Sonic shouted.

The second Mecha looked over; he was nailed to the forehead by Sonic's spin dash attack. The blow wasn't strong enough to actually knock Mecha off his feet, but for some reason, he purposely threw himself. Mecha was thrown over the nearby store and was headed in the direction of his past self. The past Mecha moved out of his future self's way, but not before his future self slipped something into his claw. Taking a moment to recollect himself, Mecha used his speed to run back to the battle with Sonic.

"So, this is what it has come down to. The final battle for the fate of the future." Mecha said.

"The future? What's he talking about?" Jet asked.

"_They might cause some trouble if the find out." _Mecha thought.

Before anyone could realize it, Mecha swiftly turned around and emitted a bright flash from his eyes. The flash became strong enough to literally blinded Amy and the guys.

"What did you do?" Sonic asked.

"I temporarily blinded them." Mecha answered. "We have five minutes until the effects wear off. Time to end this." Mecha places his claws forward and pulls out a mass amount of black chaos to form a black sphere of electricity between them. "Take this! ELECTRIC HELL SPHERE!"

Mecha launched the sphere forward towards Sonic. Along the way, the sphere of electricity gathered as much electrically energy from nearby objects and grew larger at a rapid pace. But despite all that, Sonic seemed to be calm. Instead, he raised his hand to the air to summon his signature Sonic Wind. But he didn't use it. As he stood there, the wind sphere grew larger and larger until it was the same size as him.

"Is that all you got?" Sonic taunted. "Here, try this. SONIC GALE!"

Sonic threw the ball and sent it directly for Mecha. Even though the Sonic Gale was smaller was three times smaller, the Electric Hell Sphere stood no chance against it and pushed it back to its creator. Mecha stood frozen at the sight of his greatest attack being subdued and did not move when the Hell Sphere hit. Mecha was literally blown to pieces on contact and not a single trace was seen to prove he actually existed. When it was over, only the time stones and the two chaos emerald remained. Sonic picked up the yellow chaos emeralds and the time stones floated above him.

"Well, guess it's time to head back." Sonic said. Sonic looked to his past friends and smiled. "It was nice to see them at least once. And Amy, she may be a pain, but she's not that bad." Sonic raised the yellow emerald and shouted. "CHAOS TEMPUS!"

A few moments later, the heroes received the eye sight back and looked around to what had happened. The surrounding machines and other electrical objects were damaged and a huge crater stood only a few feet from them. To their disappointment, neither Sonic nor Mecha could be found. But they did see the white chaos emerald. Espio picked it up.

"What happened to Sonic and that other thing?" Amy asked.

"What ever it was, it seemed to know Sonic and the rest of us quite well." Espio examined.

"Yeah, and did you here what they said?" Jet asked. "They said something about 'the fate of the future'. What's that about?"

"I don't know, but something strange is going on and I don't like it." Knuckles said.

The four were left with questions with absolutely no answers. All they could do was stare into the sky and ponder.

"Hey, what happened to all the stuff I bought?" Amy suddenly asked.

I am so glad I am not those three.

* * *

Meanwhile, over the Caribbean Sea, the Egg-Carrier III was flying high above the waters. Metal was meditating as usual with the yellow chaos emerald, Violet was sleeping on the floor, and Bokkun and Eggman was playing checkers.

"King me!" Bokkun exclaimed.

Eggman threw a temper tantrum and shove the board off the table. The board landed on Violet's head, which did not bother her because she was still asleep for some odd reason. Just then, Mecha walked through the automatic door.

"Hi, Mecha!" Bokkun yelled, which surprisingly still did not wake up Violet.

"Mecha restrained himself from killing the little machine and walked over to Metal.

"Did you bring what I requested?" Metal asked.

Mecha opened his claw to reveal the contents that was inside it. In his claw were a pink hair, a red quill, a green feather, and a purple scale. What surprised Mecha was that these items were given to him by his future self, which he needed to complete his mission.

"Excellent. You have done well." Metal praised his black counterpart. Metal took the items from Mecha's claw and examined them with pride. "Yes, these are exactly what we need."

"What now?" Eggman asked.

"Thanks to Mecha here, our plans for reconstructing our mechs will move faster the originally planned." Metal explained. Metal made his way to the door and opened it. "Soon, our vengeance will be at hand." Metal said before the door closed.

Eggman and Bokkun started dancing and singing, badly, with joy. This, surprisingly,_ still_ did not wake Violet up. But Mecha seemed isolated from the celebration as he had many thoughts on his mind.

"_I saw it. that hedgehog used the time technique. Then that means he was from the future. If that's true, then was that monster...me?" _Mecha mentally questioned as he remembered the mechanical monster's words. _"If that is true, then why do I seek revenge against the one who created me? Metal knows something about me and I want to find out what."_

Mecha was stern about getting some answers. But before he could even chase after Metal, Eggman and Bokkun dragged him into the party. With all the dancing and singing, Mecha felt like a complete fool. Suddenly, a random fly flew past Bokkun and caused him to sneeze. This finally broke Violet from her slumbering coma.

"Huh? What happened?" Violet asked.

* * *

**The future can be unpredictable. What does Metal know about Mecha? What does he intend to do with the items? Find out in the next chapter of Sonic Heroes.**

**Please, read and review.**


	16. A Cold Family Reunion

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sonic or DBZ characters, just the OC's

Chapter Sixteen: A Cold Family Reunion

Deep in the dreary castle of the Dark Rulers, Mephiles was making his way to Nazo's room for his daily healing. Ever since he used his Hell Form against Dark Sonic a week ago, Nazo has been lying in bed, tossing and turning in pain. As Mephiles reached his master's chamber, he was greeted with the sight of Nazo attempting to pull himself out of bed.

"Nazo, are you well?" Mephiles asked.

"I...am strong enough to...use my powers." Nazo struggled. "But...not enough...to battle." Nazo stands up and starts to wobble a bit. He finally falls, but Mephiles was there to catch him. "I guess I need to get use to walking again. Mephiles, what's happen since last time?"

"The heroes have collected another emerald." Mephiles informed. "Counting Metal's emerald, that makes a total of four emeralds found."

"And none of them are ours." Nazo growled. "Where are the others?"

"I sent Erazor to scout for any signs of another chaos emerald." Mephiles said. "As for Black Doom..."

"He's right here." Nazo and Mephiles looked to the door way to see Black Doom floating up to them. "I can see that you are getting back to normal, my lord."

"That's enough of the flattery, Black Doom." Nazo growled, not falling for Black Doom's trick. "What do you want?"

"You have the power to travel from hell and back, am I correct?" Black Doom asked.

"Yes, but I can only bring back one person every six months." Nazo informed.

"That's perfect. Because I have one person in mind that Shadow would be eager to meet." Black Doom chuckled sinisterly.

* * *

Back at the hero's base, Kumori stood eagerly over Shadow's pod as today was the day he was finally healed. Tails and Wave were making some last minute check ups, but they were moving too slow for Kumori's taste.

"Hurry up already!" Kumori said impatiently. "How long does it take to open a stupid pod?!"

"Calm yourself." Wave requested. "We must go through several procedures before..."

"I don't give a damn!" Kumori screamed, causing Tails and Wave to fall over. "I want my boyfriend out of that pod or so help me..."

"Geez, can you scream any louder. I don't think they heard you in Taiwan." Kumori paused at the sound of the voice before turning around. Getting out of the pod was Shadow; finally back after a week of healing. Kumori cried for joy as he true love was finally back. "What's wrong, Kumori? Are you hurt?"

"SHADOW!!!" Kumori cried while hugging him to death.

"Can't...breath." Shadow gasped.

"Calm down, Kumori. Let him rest a moment." Tails said. Kumori finally let go. "Great. Now if we can make some run some last minute test, we should be able to..." Tails was cut off when the alarm went off. Tails sighed and threw away the clipboard he was holding. "So much for that."

Just then, a video screen ejected from the wall and showed the G.U.N. Commander of on screen.

"Heroes, I have some bad news." The commander stated.

"What else is new?" Wave said silently.

"Black Doom has been spotted in Central City and creating havoc." The commander reported. "Also, he has been seen with another alien creature assisting him. I want you four to go down there and take care of it." And with that, the commander was gone.

"Wow, you guys must have perfect timing." Shadow chuckled. "I have been itching for a fight."

"Shadow, you can't go yet." Wave said sternly. Wave turned away to begin another lecture. "Besides we don't even know if you are properly healed yet. As leader it is not only your responsibility to watch out for your teammate's health, but you own health too. You also need to--- And I'm talking to myself, aren't I?" Wave looked back to see that the others were gone. "I really need to cut down on the lectures."

* * *

Out in Central City, everything looked normal. Especially with all the explosions and the city wide destruction. Yep, everything was normal. Black Doom was currently leading a small squadron of Black Arms through the streets of the city. Since he already had a plan in mind, Black Doom didn't bother to change into a new body. Black Doom halted his troops for a moment and had them aim their weapons toward one of the remaining skyscrapers.

"Mount your weapons." Black Doom commanded. The soldiers did so. "Aim..." He was about to give the final word when a yellow appeared out of nowhere and killed off one of the soldiers. _"Right on time."_

Black Doom and the other soldiers turned to the direction the arrow came from. Black Doom was smart enough to use chaos control to escape before the massacre began. The black warriors found Shadow, Wave, and Kumori standing not far from them with victorious smirks on their faces. While the black warriors prepared their weapons, they did not notice Tails flying above them. Tails reached into his backpack and pulled out a handful purple rings. Tails throws them in the middle of the black squadron. The moment they touched ground, the black warriors suddenly stiffened and dropped their weapons.

"All right! The paralysis rings work!" Tails cheered.

"Not bad, shorty!" Wave yelled from the ground. Tails fumed at the name, but Wave ignored it. "We'll take it from here!"

Since the black warriors were already paralyzed by Tails' rings, they had no problem dealing with them. Shadow stood his ground and merely snapped his fingers to create at least ten chaos spears. With a wave of his hand, Shadow threw the arrows and killed a portion of the aliens. Kumori decided to have a little fun with the aliens and kicked them around like rag dolls until they were defeated. Wave, on the other hand, decided to be a little more sophisticated. The Swallow threw a miniature bomb in the pile and pushed the button to blow them to pieces. When it was over, Tails joined the others as Black Doom reappeared.

"It's over, Black Doom." Shadow stated. "You and Nazo will never win."

Is that so?" Black Doom chuckled. "You seem to underestimate me in your moment of weakness.

But while Shadow and the others were lock on to Black Doom, it was Wave who noticed that he was alone. Wave remembered that Black Doom was supposed to be with a second alien. Something bright flash out of the corner of Waves eyes. Wave quickly pushed everyone out of the way just in time to avoid being hit by a thin purple beam. Having lucky enough to survive, the four looked to the sky where the beam came from. High above them was purple humanoid alien with a tail wearing white chest armor, wrist and ankle bands, and a simple helmet. The alien floated down to the ground to land next to Black Doom.

"These are the pest you warned me about." The alien asked. "They don't look much."

"Do not underestimate them." Black Doom warned. "They are more powerful then you know."

"And you would be?" Kumori asked the alien.

"Allow me to provide the introductions. This is Cooler, my nephew." Black Doom said.

"NEPHEW!!!" Tails, Wave, and Kumori screamed in surprise.

"That is so wrong on so many levels." Shadow mumbled, his right eye twitching in disturbance.

"The black one with the pointed quills. That's my cousin, Shadow, right?" Cooler asked.

"Now way!" Shadow screamed. "There is now way I am related to you freaks!"

"You were created from my blood." Black Doom stated. "So that technically makes you my son."

"That is completely different and you know it!"

"Whatever." Black Doom mumbled. "Cooler, be a good boy and kill them" Black Doom used chaos control to disappear.

"With pleasure." Cooler said anxiously.

"Keep on your toes." Wave forewarned. "This guy could be strong."

"As if. I can take this guy. Watch." Kumori said before she charged head forward at Cooler. Kumori swung his fist back, but Cooler beat her to the punch, literally. Cooler waved his hand across and knocked Kumori straight through the wall of a nearby building. "Ok...maybe that was a bad idea."

"Next." Cooler challenged.

Wave and Tails took up the opportunity and charged at Cooler. Tails reached into his back pack for a handful of golden rings and threw them at Cooler. But with just a single glance, Cooler forced the rings to explode in midair. Unknown to him, Wave came up behind on her Tsunami and smacked Cooler in the back of the head with her wrench. Just as Black Doom said, they were stronger then they looked and Cooler fell to his knees from the blow, clutching his head.

"Grr. You filthy little pest!" Cooler yelled.

Cooler whipped his tail up and used it to strangle Wave around her neck. Wave panicked and tried to pry Cooler's tail loose, but it was no use. Wave was quickly losing oxygen fast and soon lost any energy to move her body. Cooler continually tortured Wave with a proud smirk on his face. But just then, a yellow arrow appeared out of nowhere and sliced Cooler's tail clean off. Cooler screamed in pain while tried to recollect her breath. Cooler sent an angry glare to Shadow.

"You little rat! How dare you do this to me!" Cooler shouted.

"Look. If you want to stay alive, I suggest you leave now." Shadow said confidently. "So far, all that you have proven is that you're all talk."

"Hahaha. All talk, eh?" Cooler laughed. "I have no fear of death. Because...I have already died." Shadow's expression soon turned to one of great shock. "That's right, I have died before. It was right here, on Planet Earth, that I was killed by a filthy saiyan monkey." Cooler growled at the thought of his death. "I may have underestimated my opponent before, but not this time!"

Cooler's eyes start to glow and shoot out a thin purple beam at Shadow. But the black hedgehog easily dodged it by stepping to the side. Cooler tried again, but also missed. Cooler tries again and again, but proved to be futile against Shadow's speed. But Cooler was too determined to give. So determined in fact that he was too blind to see that Shadow was standing right next to him.

"Hey." Shadow called Cooler's attention.

Cooler stopped for a moment to gaze at his side. Big mistake. The moment Cooler looked over, he found Shadow's fist crushed into his stomach. Cooler was instantly at a loss of breath and stepped back while clutching his stomach region. Cooler collapsed to his knees and doubled over from the pain he was feeling.

"_Impossible! Not even that monkey was this powerful!" _Cooler thought. _"In this form, I don't stand a chance. I must take this battle to the next level."_

Cooler quickly recollected himself and glared at Shadow's presence. But even in the midst of defeat, Cooler remained calm. Cooler then grew a wide smirk that changed to a chuckle then to a full-out laugh.

"Did I miss the joke?" Shadow asked with a confused expression.

"No, but you are a part of it." Cooler laughed, leaving Shadow in the dark. "Last time I was forced to transform into my final state it was against that monkey."

"What?!" Shadow exclaimed.

"That's right! I have the power to go beyond my limits! To the most powerful being in the universe!" Cooler yelled.

Cooler crouched down and started to gather a mass amount of energy. The energy that surrounded the alien was clearly equal to that of Black Doom. The ground started to break apart as Cooler began to grow. His muscular structure doubled, his armor expanded, spikes formed on his forearms, and four horns grow to form a crown atop his head with a mask to cover his face.

"Incredible. His power has just skyrocketed." Shadow said shockingly.

"Now...DIE!!" Cooler yelled.

Cooler charged forward at tremendous speeds and nailed Shadow right in the face. Shadow was thrown back momentarily before Cooler recaptured him by his leg. Cooler launched Shadow into the air and chased after him. Cooler kneed Shadow in the chest before elbow him downwards. Shadow was thrown down so fast, that he created a creater on contact. And as if things couldn't get any worse, Cooler flew down to the ground and rammed his foot into Shadow's chest. Shadow's screams of pain echoed, but no one could hear them. No one but his torturer.

"Hahaha. How does it feel to be at the bottom of the food chain?" Cooler laughed.

"I was about to ask you the same question."

Cooler looked over for a moment before receiving Kumori's foot in his face. But even with Kumori's super human strength, Cooler didn't even flinch. At the opportune moment, Cooler grasped Kumori by her neck and started to suffocate her.

"Before I kill you, I think I'll kill you little girlfriend first." Cooler chuckled as he tightened his grip around Kumori.

Kumori struggled to break free, but even she was not strong enough to break free. Before she faint into subconsciouness Kumori was able to utter one final word.

"Shadow…"

Something in Shadow's mind snapped at that moment. Cooler stopped his attack when he felt a surge of energy residing below him. He looked down to see Shadow, only completely covered in red chaos. Cooler felt a chill down his spine when he looked into Shadow blood red eyes. In that moment, Shadow broke from Cooler's hold and curled into his ball for, shouting.

"CHAOS BOOST!"

The added energy launched Shadow directly into Cooler's chest, forcing him to release Kumori. Cooler howled in pain as he was shot up thirty stories into the air before Shadow returned to his normal state with Kumori in his arms.

"Kumori, you fought bravely." Shadow whispered, even though he knew she wasn't listening.

Meanwhile, Cooler was coming to realization of the sudden shift. Cooler stared at his armor and found a huge crack where Shadow attacked.

"_He was strong enough to pierce my armor.__" _Cooler panicked. _"I don't care what my uncle says. If I can't win, no one can!"_

Cooler raises his hand and begins to form a bright orange ball. But soon enough, the ball grows bigger and bigger until it was the size of the moon (before Eggman blew it up). Shadow stood in horror at the size of the attack. Not even his chaos blast could compare to an attack of that magnitude.

"He's insane." Shadow stated. "He'll wipe out the entire planet."

"This is where it ends!" Cooler claimed. "Let's see how you match up against my Death Ball." Cooler was prepared to throw the finisher until he felt something small hit his back. It was then he realized, he couldn't move. Cooler painfully forced his head to turn and found the reason for his sudden stop. It was Tails after using his new paralysis rings. _"The brat! I completely forgot about him!"_

"Tails, you're a life saver. Now move so I can finish this." Shadow ordered. Tails nodded his head and flew away to help Wave. Shadow set Kumori down for a moment and gave last gtlance at her before returning his attention to Cooler. Shadow gathered a large amount of yellow chaos energy in both his hands before merging them together into one giant arrow. "CHAOS LANCE!"

Shadow threw the arrow at Cooler and forced him back into his own attack: The Death Ball. The force of the blast pushed Cooler and the Death Ball out into space just in time to escape the explosion it created. The dark clouds had disappeared and the sun was free to shine again. Wave and Tails cheered for their victory, but Shadow didn't join. He couldn't help but feel that Cooler was the least of their worries. And he was right.

* * *

Back at the Dark Rulers castle, Nazo was sitting at his 'throne' with Mephiles and Black Doom at his side. They were watching the battle through their viewing portal and Nazo looked displeased.

"I wasted an entire six months of my power for him? He was weak." Nazo growled. "And if that's not enough, he tried to destroy the planet. If he had succeeded, the chaos emerald would be lost forever." He turned to Black Doom. "This is your fault."

Black Doom showed much hatred towards Nazo, which he noticed instantly. Ever since Nazo's previous battle, the two Dark Rulers have been uneasy around each other. If Mephiles wasn't there, he was sure that they would try to kill each other. Just then, the frustration was broke with Erazor Djinn's untimely return.

"Do you have anything to report?" Mephiles asked.

"Nothing to report, but I do have this." Erazor said as he reached behind into his sash

Erazor grabbed an object out of his sash and held it out to reveal the blue chaos emerald. Nazo smiled with pride as he grabbed the emerald from the evil genie's hand.

"You have done well, Erazor. Much better then Black Doom." Nazo complimented. Black Doom growled at the compliment. Nazo waved his minions to leave and they did. Nazo was left alone with the emerald and started to whisper to it. "Soon, you will have you vengeance on those who have misused you...my child."

* * *

Meanwhile, The Egg-Carrier III was floating over the Red Sea at the moment as another evil plot began to unfold. Metal and Eggman were standing in front of four vats of liquid with different colored ooze in each. One vat had red ooze, another had pink ooze, another had purple ooze, and the last one had green ooze. But the one thing they all had in common was that one of Metal's mech soldiers inside each of them. From the look of things, the ooze was slowly connecting to the mechs body.

"How is it so far?" Eggman asked.

"It appears to be coming along faster then we expected." Metal stated. "The organic materials are now starting to merge with their mechanical structures."

"To think that such a thing could exist." Eggman chuckled. "I must feel proud of myself to know that my descendent came up with an idea like this. And to be intelligent enough to create a marvelous machine like you."

"Yes. It was Nega's brilliance that brought me to life." Metal stated. "And now it is his brilliance that will begin a new era." Metal raised his fist to express his point. "Soon, we will have a squadron of Bio-mechanical warriors to serve us. And then, the world is ours."

* * *

**The heroes have defeated one of the most powerful forces in the universe. Who is this child that Nazo speaks of? What is this squadron that Metal has planned. Find out on the next Sonic Heroes.**

**Please, read and review.**


	17. The Perfect Gift

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sonic characters, just the OC's

Chapter Seventeen: The Perfect Gift

It was a peaceful winter night for the Sonic Heroes. The leaves of the trees were completely gone and the ground was covered with powdery white snow. But this was no normal winter night. This was the night of Christmas. To commemorate their first Christmas together, the Heroes decided to throw a Christmas party. Everyone went around inviting everyone they knew to join. The guests of the party were: The Sonic Heroes (of course), Team Virtex, Vanilla (Cream's mother), Chaos and Tikal, The chao from Chao Garden, The G.U.N. Commander, Shahra and the Arabian Nights characters (Which caused a lot of confusion and nearly had Amy beheaded), and Princess Elise. Everyone was chatting and enjoying the party. Well...almost everybody.

"WHERE'S SONIC?!?!?!" Amy suddenly screamed.

Amy's screamed caught everyone off guard and caused them to trip on there own two feet. It was true that no one has seen Sonic since this morning. Sonic said he left to get something, but it's been hours since then. Quite frankly, Amy had a reason to be upset. After all, it was Sonic's idea for a party in the first place.

"Calm down, dear. I'm sure Sonic is on his way." Vanilla assured her.

"But what if he doesn't?" Amy cried. "What if he's never going to come?"

"I'm not complaining." Recter stated. Shahra slapped him over the head. "Ow!"

"Don't worry, Amy." Howl said. "Sonic isn't the one to let people down."

"Yeah! He's probably already on his way!" Raine cheered.

* * *

"This is definitely not the way wanted to spend Christmas." Sonic said.

Sonic was eagerly making his way back to the base when he accidentally ran into Eggman and Metal. Sonic was running across the snowy plain at breakneck speed with Eggman in his Egg-Mobile close on his tail. Eggman pressed a button on his Egg-Mobile to shoot a laser that barely missed Sonic. Sonic turns around and starts running backwards while forming his signature attack.

"SONIC WIND!"

Sonic threw the attack at Eggman's Egg-Mobile and blew it up. Lucky for Eggman, he pressed the eject button before it blew up and was now parachuting down to the ground. Suddenly, Bokkun flew out of nowhere and started laughing.

"Haha! You blew up!" Bokkun laughed.

Eggman then pulled a wrench out of nowhere and whacked it across Bokkun's head.

"That oughta take care of them for a while." Sonic said. Sonic suddenly stopped running when he ran into something from behind. Sonic looked up to find Metal Sonic looming over him. "Uh...Hi."

"Bye." Metal said.

Metal struck his claws down, but the hedgehog quickly flipped forward to avoid it. Sonic tried to make a run for it, but Metal quickly jumped to block him off. Metal swiped his claws several times, but Sonic was lucky enough to dodge them. At one point, Metal lost his balance, which gave Sonic the opportunity to counter. Sonic grabbed Metal by his arm and swung him over his should and throw him into pile of snow.

"I'd hate to hit and run, but I have a party to get to." Sonic said.

Sonic turned to run, but accidentally slipped on some ice and flew across the frozen ground to ram into a tree.

* * *

Back at the party, Jet took Shahra and the Arabian Night characters outside to introduce something they never see in the desert: snow. The characters watch idly as the snow fell from the sky and touched softy on the ground. King Shahryar held out his hand to catch a flake, but it melted in his hand.

"So...this stuff is called snow, right" Shahryar asked.

"Yep. I bet you don't see this kind of stuff in your book." Jet said.

"Except for Solomon's domain, I have never seen such things before." Shahryar said. "What are they used for?" Shahryar was then suddenly pelted by a random snowball. Shahryar looks over to see Jet laughing. Shahryar draws his blade and holds it to Jet's neck. "You dare to strike me!"

"N-n-no, wait! It was part of a game!" Jet screamed quickly.

"A game?" Shahryar asked.

"Yeah. You're supposed to make snowballs and throw them at each other." Jet explained while forming a new snowball. "Like this." Jet threw the snowball and landed a direct hit on Sinbad. "See, its fun."

"You mean, I just do this..." Shahryar followed Jet's example and formed his own snowball. "...And just throw it?" Jet nodded. Shahryar threw the snowball and nailed Ali Baba directly in the back of his hooded head. At this, Shahryar started laughing. "You're right, it is fun."

Suddenly, Jet and Shahryar were bombarded by a barrage of snowballs. After being hit, Sinbad and Ali Baba started to fight back. Jet and Shahryar teamed up against Sinbad and Ali Baba and began their own snowball fight. Back inside, Shahra was watching her friends play through the window. Just then, Wave walked up to her.

"Hey, you're Shahra, right?" Wave asked.

"Yes, I am." Shahra answered.

"I never got a chance to introduce myself. My name is Wave." Wave said.

"Oh, so you're Wave." Shahra said giddily. "Jet talked about you a lot during our adventures. You're his girlfriend, right?"

"Yeah and I couldn't be anymore proud of it." Wave smirked.

"It's nice to see that you two are happy." Shahra smiled. "But tell me, how can you stand someone as clumsy as Jet?"

"Clumsy?" Wave repeated.

"Jet was always such a klutz back in the book." Shahra said. "I have loads of stories about them."

"Are any of them embarrassing stories?" Wave asked.

"The best ones are." Shahra answered.

"Let's start with those." Wave smirked.

* * *

"This day just gets better and better" Sonic said sarcastically.

Currently, Sonic was running through a forest while being chased down by all four Dark Rulers. Erazor reeled out his razor blade and swung heated blades to Sonic. Sonic quickly jumped from side to side to escape becoming dinner. Sonic run up a tree and jumped off in his ball form. Nazo and Mephiles jumped out of the way while Sonic nailed Erazor in the face and caused him to knock into Black Doom.

"Grr, you imbecile." Black Doom said as he pushed Erazor away. Let me show you how it's done. SWIFT STRIKE!"

Sonic jumped on a nearby tree, but quickly jumped off when Black Doom's attack came closer. When Black Doom had not taken into account was him cutting down the tree and having him and Erazor both being crushed under its weight. Sonic smirked and turned to leave but was blocked off by Nazo.

"You may have made a mockery of those two bumblers, but not me." Nazo said.

Nazo jumped straight forward at Sonic and punched him in the jaw to throw him back. Sonic quickly jumped to his feet and jumped back when Nazo struck again. Nazo was coming at him again when he noticed Mephiles running at him from behind. Acting fast, Sonic jumped up and watched as Nazo became tangled in a web of purple ooze. Sonic chuckled for a moment before leaving.

"IDIOTS!!!" Nazo yelled at his team.

* * *

Back the base, Cream was helping the guest with some drinks when she noticed Tail. Or more specifically, what was above him. Hanging on the roof above Tails head was a small piece of mistletoe. Cream saw this as an opportunity to get close to the two-tailed kitsune.

"_This could be my only chance. I can't waste it."_ Cream thought.

Cream slowly made her way over to Tails and prepared herself. Her heart was beating faster with every step she took towards him. Cream was only a few steps away when a small Cream Chao came out of nowhere and beat her.

"Hey, how ya doing." Tails greeted. The Cream Chao pointed up and showed Tails the small plant. "Oh, mistletoe." The Cream Chao kissed Tails on his cheek. "Well, thanks."

Tails walked away, leaving Cream heartbroken. Cream held her head down in a depressive state. Just then, Blue came up to her.

"Hey, Cream, what's wrong? Blue asked.

"I just missed my chance with Tails under the mistletoe." Cream said sadly.

"Why? What's wrong about missing him under the mistletoe?" Blue asked.

"Don't you know?" Cream asked. Blue shook his head. "When two people stand under the mistletoe, they have to kiss. It's part of a Christmas tradition. One time, Amy tried to get Sonic under the mistletoe and somehow got him in jail."

"Really..." Blue said interestingly as he looked at the small plant. He then turned his attention to Tikal, who was talking with Vanilla. Blue quickly reached for the mistletoe and ran off. "Thanks, Cream."

On the other side of the base, Tails was setting a bowl of pretzels on the table when he found Vector.

"Hey, Vector." Tails greeted.

"Hey, kid." Vector returned. "Hey, what happened over there with you and that chao?"

"Well, she found me under the mistletoe." Tails explained. "You how it is. Two people under the mistletoe have to kiss."

Really." Vector said. Vector felt stupid for forgetting one of the biggest traditions of Christmas. Vector turned his attention to Vanilla, who was talking to Tikal. Just then, Vector pulled a strand of mistletoe from out of nowhere and ran over. "Thanks for the tip, kid."

Both Blue and Vector ran over to the girls without showing any signs of stopping. Too bad for them, the two females walked away from the spot they were talking and the two ran into each other. After recollecting themselves, they both noticed they were holding mistletoe over each other. They took before screaming and running as far away from each other as possible.

"What do you think got into them?" Vanilla asked.

"I don't know." Tikal said. "The minds of men are vastly mysterious."

* * *

"Ok. I can understand Eggman and Nazo chasing me, but this ridicules!" Sonic exclaimed.After escaping Nazo, Sonic ran past a farm where he unfortunately was found by an army of cows riding in flying saucers. The cows were chasing after Sonic through the sky and were firing laser beams at him. Sonic moved sideways to avoid the lasers. 

"Hah! You're going to have to be quicker then that." Sonic smirked. Sonic continued to run until he realized...he wasn't touching the ground. Sonic looked down and saw that he was slowly floating into the air. Apparently, the evil space cows caught Sonic inside a tractor beam and were pulling them towards their ship. "I don't have time for this!"

Sonic quickly curled into his ball form and started spinning in place. When he was within range, Sonic blasted upwards with his spin dash attack. Sonic landed on the ground with a big smirk on his face. But that smirk suddenly disappeared when even more space cows showed up.

"Ugh. Can't I ever get a break?" Sonic whined. The space cows all aimed their lasers at the blue blur until a pack of Earth cows passed by. The space cows quickly forgot Sonic and started chasing after them. "Not what I was expecting, but I'll take it."

* * *

Back at the base, Princess Elise was sitting at the couch with Silver and Blaze. Silver and Elise were telling Blaze all the stories of what happened during the Solaris incident since she couldn't remember herself.

"...And that when we first kissed." Silver said. "I still have nightmares of you dying like that."

"Don't worry, Silver. I'm not going anywhere." Blaze assured him with a kiss on the cheek.

"You know, I still don't understand how I still remember everything when no one else does." Elise said.

"I don't know. During one of our battles, Mephiles once told me that he and I were not affected by the timeline. That we both exist outside of time." Silver explained. "How you can still remember is still a mystery."

"Did someone say mystery?" Vector and Charmy asked as they appeared out of nowhere.

"Not that kind of mystery." Blaze said. Espio quickly tied them up and dragged them away while apologizing for their actions. "Those guys really need to get new jobs."

"So, did you tell them about your relation to Sonic and Amy?" Elise asked.

"Well...I didn't, but Metal sure did." Silver said.

"So how did they take it?" Elise asked.

Well, Amy was happy and Sonic was placed under government security." Blaze said.

"From who?"

"From Amy's overprotective big brother, Rector." Silver said.

"So...does Rector know that he kissed Amy?" Elise asked.

"What?! Someone kissed my little sister!" Rector said with outrage.

"Now he does." Blaze stated.

"Whoever did it is going to die!" Rector yelled

Rector then proceeded to chase down all the men in the base (With the exception of Howl, Jet, Silver and Shadow). Many tried to escape, but ended up only making the pain worse. A couple moments later, Amy and Wave were dragging all of the injured into the emergency ward.

"Well, that's one way to start the holidays." Blaze said.

"Oops." Elise said meekly.

* * *

"I know I'm not the luckiest guy in the world, but there is no way that my luck is this bad!" Sonic screamed.

Now, Sonic was not only being chased by Eggman and Metal, but also the Dark Rulers and the space cows. Metal threw waves of electricity, Eggman and the space cows fired lasers, and the Dark Rulers all used their signature attacks on the poor hedgehog. Sonic dived from blow after blow that just didn't seem to end. Finally, Sonic had enough. Sonic raised his hand to the group of evil.

"Hold it right there!" Sonic said with authority.

All the evil entities stopped in their tracks with confusing expressions on their faces. Well...expect for Metal.

"What now?" Metal asked.

"Why are you doing this?" Sonic asked.

"I don't you know by know?" Mephiles asked. "It's because we're evil, that's why."

"But it's Christmas." Sonic argued.

"We don't care what day it is." Black Doom said. "Either way, we are going to kill you."

Give me a break." Sonic sighed. "Listen, all I wanted to do was to get something important. A perfect gift for someone I really care about." The villain's evil features slowly started to dwindle. "I mean, it's this is probably the one chance I have to give something back. After all that this person has done for me, I just to pay them back. So please, just give me a break."

Pretty soon, all the villains were starting to feel pretty bad for all the things they did today. Even the seemingly heartless Nazo was starting to feel sympathetic for the little blue hedgehog.

"Well...I guess we can let you off with a break." Nazo said uncomfortably since he was not used to doing this. "I mean...after all...it is Christmas." Sonic smiled happily knowing that they were finally letting him off. "But once this holiday is over, we will come back to destroy you. Hopefully not those cows. Things are weird enough as it is."

"MOO!!" the cow mooed angrily.

"Thanks, guys" Sonic said.

"Now that that's settled. Who wants hot chocolate?" Eggman asked.

"Ooh, that sounds heavenly." Nazo said.

"I wouldn't mid some." Metal said

"MOO!"

soon, all the evil villains left together for a cup of hot chocolate. Sonic stood there like an idiot with a crazed expression on his face. Then after a minute, Sonic remembered his task and quickly made his way back home.

* * *

Back at the base, the party was slowly dying down and everyone would be leaving soon. Everyone seemed to have had a good time. Everyone except Amy. Amy sat depressed at the window the entire time waiting for her Sonic to come home. Recter walked up to her had placed his hand on her shoulder for reassurance.

"Are you ok?" Recter asked.

"I've been better." Amy answered sadly.

"You can't let Sonic get to you like this." Rector said

"I know. But it was just hope this Christmas would be different." Amy said.

Amy continued to watch the snow fall outside with of her Sonic trudging through it just to see her. Amy held her head down in depression. She knew that Sonic would never do anything g like that. Just then, there was a slight cold breeze passing by followed by a familiar voice.

"Hey, guys! I'm back!" Everyone looked towards the entrance to find that Sonic had finally returned. Everyone ran to Sonic's side except for Amy and Recter. Instead, Amy stomped over to Sonic with flames of rage in her eyes. Everyone slowly backed away from the infuriated Amy. Sonic turned around when he noticed her. "Hey, Amy."

"Don't you 'hey, Amy' me, Sonic the Hedgehog!" Amy yelled, catching Sonic off guard. "Where have you been all this time?! Do you know how worried I have been?! I have been waiting for you all night and just show up like nothing happened!" But even with all of Amy's yelling; Sonic could only smile. "I was hoping that just once, you would think about how others feel and just..." Amy paused for a moment when Sonic presented Amy with a sparkling yellow rose. Amy hesitantly grabbed the rose and asked. "What is this?"

"This is the reason I was gone." Sonic explained. "I traveled to the other side of the world to get it for you."

"Wow! Do you know what that is?" Raine said excitingly.

"What is it?" Howl asked.

"That's a rare Topaz Rose." Raine explained. "I heard that the last one went extinct over a year ago."

"It did. I was lucky enough to find the last seed half a year ago." Sonic said. "I took it to an underground spring to keep it safe. I was planning to give it to Amy when I found her again. But when I did find her, I completely forgot. So I was thinking of getting it for her for Christmas."

"Oh, that's so romantic." Cream said. Recter's eye started to twitch at the thought. "And speaking of romantic. Look up."

Sonic looked above their heads and saw a small strand of mistletoe above them. Amy's eyes sparkled at the sight of the small plant piece. Normally, it would be Amy jumping all over Sonic, but it was different this time. Sonic beat Amy and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Amy sighed happily and nearly fainted. Sonic looked over and found Recter looming over his with his fist held high. But instead of punching Sonic, he pats him on the back.

"I'll let it slide this time." Recter said. "Mary Christmas, Sonic.

"Marry Christmas, Recter." Sonic said. "Marry Christmas, everyone."

At it went on from there. Blue and Vector tried to get Tikal and Vanilla under the mistletoe, but failed every time. Cream tried to get close to Tails, but the Cream Chao always beat her. No one saw that chao again. Presents followed and everyone was happy. Everyone except Shadow, who was avoiding Kumori's kissing. The villains enjoyed their own Christmas party, but they all received coal for Christmas. Everyone except Bokkun, who received a teddy bear. He is currently locked in a closet. Christmas has now come and gone and a new adventure was beginning at first sun set. Or at least it would if Eggman didn't block it with a machine.

"Here we go again." Sonic said.

* * *

**The greatest gift is the one from the heart. Marry Christmas everybody.**

**Please, read and review.**


	18. Arabian Wedding Nights

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sonic characters, just the OC's

Chapter Eighteen: Arabian Wedding Nights

It was night time at the base of the Sonic Heroes. Everyone was in bed, dreaming their usual dreams. Amy dreamed of marrying Sonic. Sonic dreamed of running away from Amy. Knuckles and Rouge were thinking of the Master Emerald in different ways. And Storm was dreaming about...nothing. But one member of the team did not sleep peacefully this night. In Jet and Storm's room, Jet was tossing and turning in his bed as an annoying, yet familiar voice was pestering him in his sleep.

"_Jet...Jet..."_ the voice started softly before shouting. _"Wake up, bird brain!"_

That last shout startled the emerald bird and jumped him out of his bed.

"Ooh, my beak." Jet groaned. Jet pulled himself up and glared at Storm. "Storm, was that you?" the only reply he received was Storm loud snoring. "Guess that answers my question. Well, if it wasn't Storm, who was it?"

"_That would be me."_

"I know that voice." Jet said and he looked at the golden ring on his bedside table. "Shahra?"

"_It's about time you woke up. I've been trying to reach you all night." _Shahra said.

"Couldn't it wait in the morning?" Jet complained tiredly.

"_No time! King Shahryar needs to see you right away!"_ Shahra exclaimed.

"Why? What's the problem?" Jet questioned.

"_You'll see once you get there. Now hurry!" _Shahra screeched.

"All right already." Jet groaned as he made his way out of the room. "I miss the good ol days when I was considered a bad guy."

Jet made his way to the workshop where Tails, Wave, and Omega were usually tinkering. Jet walked past the Tornado III and stopped in front of the entrance of the storage room. Jet removed his glove and placed it on the scanner to access the storage room where they keep all their valuable items. Including the three chaos emeralds. Jet walked over to the podium that held his own book and opened it to the chapter of Sand Oasis, where the king resides. Jet would willing go, but there was a problem.

"How am I supposed to get in?" Jet asked. Just then, a human hand reached out of the book and grabbed Jet by the beak. "Give me a break."

The hand forcefully pulled Jet into the pages and disappeared as the book closed all on its own.

* * *

The scene takes place in the tall white place that lay in the vast desert of Sand Oasis. Jet fell from the ceiling of the palace and landed on the cold stone floor on his beak. 

"Why does this stuff only happen to me?" Jet whined.

"It's called karma and I think it suits you." Jet looked over his shoulder to see King Shahryar at his throne with Shahra, Ali Baba, and Sinbad at his side. "Welcome back, Wind Hawk.

"Back at ya." Jet said nasally while fixing his beak. "What do you want this time?"

King Shahryar's expression seemed stern and serious. Not the kind you would usually see on Sonic's face. King Shahryar stepped up from his throne and walked down the long hall with the others by his side. Upon passing Jet, King Shahryar said.

"Follow me." Jet willingly followed as they made their way to the palace doors. "Do you remember when you first defeated Erazor Djinn and restored the Arabian Nights?"

"Remember? How could I forget?" Jet asked as his mind wandered back to that day.

* * *

---_Flashback---_

The Babylon Guardian then appeared through the floor in front of Jet.

"So, we meet again, Jet the Hawk." The Babylon Guardian said.

"Hey, looks like I'm running a bit low, here. Think you could top me off." Jet said as he pointed to the flame on his chest.

"I will. but first..." The Babylon Guardian trailed off as he held his hand towards Jet.

All of a sudden, the crystal box flew from Jet's feathers and into the Babylon Guardian's hand. The crystal box then began to glow in the Babylon Guardians hand and soon the Babylon Guardians body began to crack before exploding.

"No longer am I the Babylon Guardian. I am, once more...Erazor Djinn!"

---

"But the life of the collector of the rings shall be offered up in sacrifice as the key for that control." I offer up YOUR life, Jet the Hawk." Erazor Djinn proclaims.

Erazor Djinn pulls out his razor and lunges at Jet. Just as he was about to strike Jet, Shahra jumps in front of Jet and takes the hit.

"Jet... I'm... sorry. I knew... all along... I knew what would happen, and I still got you involved." Shahra apologized

"Shahra! Grant me a wish! I wish for you to not die and to go back to the way you were!" Jet wished desperately.

"I'm so sorry, Master. I... cannot grant..." Shahra couldn't finish as her life was taken and the ring on Jet's finger shattered.

"Hmph. In the end, such is the weak power of a Genie of the Ring." Erazor Djinn said. The seven world rings enter Erazor Djinn's body and forces him to transform into a misshapen monster. "I am Alf Layla Wa-Layla. I AM the Arabian Nights. I will be its new creator! I will remake this world and this reality in my own image!"

Suddenly, Jet's crystal box floats above his head and envelopes him in a flash of light. With the power of the crystal box, Jet had become Shining Jet.

"I am going to put an end to you!" Shining Jet proclaims.

---

Erazor Djinn was lying on the floor, defeated, and Jet was sitting on the throne in front of him. Jet took notice that the flame on his chest had disappeared.

Erazor Djinn was lying on the floor, defeated, and Jet was sitting on the throne in front of him. Jet took notice that the flame on his chest had disappeared." Erazor proclaims.

Jet then pulls out the red and gold lamp Shahra gave him and shows it to Erazor Djinn.

"That can't be!? That's...the" Erazor Djinn said in shock.

"The genie of the lamp is supposed to grant three wishes, am I right?" Jet asked. "Hmm! My first wish. Bring Shahra back to life!" A red beam of light leaves the lamp and shoots Erazor Djinn directly in the chest and forces him to grant Jet's wish. Shahra's ring reappears on Jet's finger and Shahra rematerialized next to Jet. "My second wish. Return the Arabian Nights to the way they were, so that the world can have its stories again!" Erazor Djinn was shot again and the books words left his body to return to their original place.

_---End Flasback---_

* * *

"That's one thing that is impossible to forget." 

"When you returned the Arabian Nights to its original state the book was incomplete." Sinbad said as the group walked outside.

"Say what?!" Jet exclaimed.

"The original state of the Arabian Nights was incomplete because more stories were being made." Shahryar explained. "But just yesterday, the last page was filled. And that's where the trouble begins."

"What do you mean?" Jet asked.

"When the book was incomplete, King Shahryar could easily keep stability amongst the Arabian Nights." Shahra explained. "But now that the book is full, it has become too much for the king to handle."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"In order for King Shahryar to maintain stability, he must have a..." Shahra trailed off.

"A what?" Jet asked, but no one answered. "Come on. Tell me."

"A queen." Shahryar said. "To maintain stability, I must acquire a queen."

"Whoa, that's a big step, fella." Jet joked. "So, you drag me here all the way just to get you hitched. Come on, you're the king. I'm sure you could have any woman you want."

"It's true, but I desire a queen who is kind and pure of heart." Shahryar said. "Jet, my friend, it is up to you to find someone who is fit to stay by my side."

"You can count on me." Jet said as he turned to Shahra. "Shahra, I wish we were at the most populated page in the book."

"Your wish is my command, o master." Shahra said.

And with a flick of her wrist, Jet, Sinbad, and Ali Baba were transported to another location. The group soon found themselves in a large desert city similar to that of Sand Oasis, only drier.

"Where are we?" Jet asked.

"If I remember correctly, this is the former sight of Erazor Djinn's castle." Shahra said. "It was reconstructed when Erazor was defeated."

"Funny. When I imagined coming back here, I thought it would be a lot creepier." Jet said.

"We must find a queen for the King and soon." Ali Baba stated. "Or else the book will start to unravel."

The four traversed through the street market I hopes of finding someone fit enough to be Shahryar's queen. Jet had suggested many women, but nearly all of the only wanted to steal his money. And others he picked would only agree if it meant ruling the Arabian Nights. Ali Baba kept a sharp look out for anyone who might be fit for Shahryar and spotted someone down the street. The woman looked like Kumori, but wore baggy white pants and a simple white top. The woman was known as a thief, but only did it for those in need. Ali Baba and the others approached her just as she was stealing a diamond necklace.

"A bit much, don't you think?" Ali Baba said, startling the thief.

"Whoa, you startled me for a moment." The thief said. "Well, I wasn't really going to steal it. I was...uh."

The thief was trying to come up with an excuse, but couldn't think of one. Strangely enough, Sinbad somehow seemed to recognize her.

"Marina?" Sinbad asked.

"Sinbad?" Marina replied.

"You know her?" Jet asked.

"Of course. He and I were partners sailing the high seas until the Rukh came and took him." Marina explained.

"So, is she suited for the king?" Shahra asked.

"Yes, she is." Sinbad said. The group cheered until. "Except for one thing." Sinbad held his and her hand out to reveal two golden rings on each of them.

"You've got to be kidding" Jet complained.

"We were married when we returned to Basra." Marina explained. "Which reminds me, we never finished our honeymoon."

"You guys go on ahead. I have some unfinished business to take care of." Sinbad said.

Sinbad grabbed Marina by her arm and dragged her off down the street, leaving the others in their dust.

"He's not coming back, is he?" Shahra asked.

"I wouldn't." Jet said, earning him a slap.

The group, now down to three, once again set out to find a suitable queen. While, Ali Baba and Shahra wanted to venture on, Jet noticed another girl near the market's fountain. The girl looked like Blaze, only she wore red Arabian clothing. Jet tugged at Ali Baba's cloak and asked.

"Who is that?"

"That's Badroulbadour **(That is a real charecter)**, the princess from the story, _Aladdin and the Magic Lamp_." Ali Baba answered.

"Is she a good person?"

She is one of the purest in the whole book." Ali Baba informed.

"Perfect." Jet said as he raced towards the princess.

"Wait!" Ali Baba called out. "You should know that..."

But Jet wasn't listening. All he could think about was finding a queen and getting back home to sleep. As the princess relaxed near the cool, gental waters, Jet skidded out of nowhere and stopped in front of her.

"Can I help you?" The princess asked.

"Yeah. I supposed to be looking for someone to become the kings queen." Jet explained shortly.

"I would be happy to help." The princess said.

"Great! We get you back to the palace, get you married, and I can go to sleep. Problem solved." Jet said.

"But there is a problem." Jet looked at her with a confused look. "It's my husband, Aladdin."

"Who is this, Aladdin?" Jet questioned. "I would like to tell him a thing or two." A moment later, someone tapped on Jet's shoulder. Jet looked over to see Silver, only wearing a crimson vest and black sash. Jet could only guess that this was Aladdin. "Why didn't I see that coming?" Aladdin reeled back his fist and knocked Jet's lights out. A few minutes later, Ali Baba and Shahra dragged Jet to a merchant resterant with an ice pack for his eye. "I must be cursed or something."

"No, you just don't know how think straight." Shahra commented, receiving a glare from Jet.

"Is there anyone in this book that isn't married or have a boyfriend that could kill me?" Jet asked.

"Well...there is one person." Ali Baba said.

"Who?!" Shahra and Jet exclaimed, startling Ali Baba.

"Her name is Scheherazadea **(This is the actual name)**, a famous story teller." Ali Baba stated.

"I remember her." Shahra said. "She and the king were supposed to be married since the creation of the Arabian Nights. But When Erazor attacked, she was lost forever."

"She was not lost. She was merely hiding." Ali Baba stated.

"Do you know where she is?"

"She is..." Ali Baba was interrupted when a violent storm erupted from out of nowhere. The storm created a funnel that crashed down to the ground. The funnel disappeared and revealed none other than Erazor Djinn. "Erazor!"

"Aah, it is so good to be home." Erazor said calmly.

"What are you doing her?" Shahra questioned.

"I could sense that the king's power was growing weaker." Erazor stated. "I thought that with this opportunity, I could reclaim what was rightfully mine. And when I do take over the Arabian Nights, I'll even let you be my queen, Shahra."

"Never!" Shahra spat.

"Very well. Have it your way." Erazor said as he whipped out his razor blade.

"You'll have to get past me first." Jet said as he whipped out his fans.

"With pleasure."

Erazor and Jet charged towards eachother and dived at one another. In a strange turn of events, Erazor returned his blade and fell slightly backwards. When Jet was in range, Erazor swung his leg upward to kick Jet into the air. Erazor followed and whipped his razor blade to take numorous swipes at the birds body. Erazor purposely missed all of Jet's vital spots in order to prolong his suffering. After having his little fun, Erazor held out his hand and conjured a ball of fire. Erazor threw the ball, along with Jet, into one of the merchant store and burned it down.

"Jet!" Shahra cried.

"I would not worry about him." Erazor smirked. "In a matter of moments, he will be dead." Erazor disappeared and then reappeared in front of Ali Baba. Erazor grabbed Ali Baba by the neck and forced his mask off. Once the mask was gone, Ali Baba turned out to be Amy, only her hair was messier and more wild. "You really thought you could hide from me, Scheherazadea."

"Scheherazadea?" Shahra repeated. _"So the true queen has been in front of us the entire time?"_

"You won't win, Erzaor." Scheherazadea stated. "I no longer fear you. Once Shahryar and I are reunited, you will beg for mercy."

"That is where you are wrong." Erazor smirked. "Now that the king is weak, I will have no trouble extracting the locations of the seven world rings from him." Erazor whipped out his razor and held it to Scheherazadea's neck. "Now to end this."

Erazor held back his blade and swung it across the hedgehog girls neck. But just a split second before the blade hit, time suddenly stopped and Scheherazadea had disappeared. Erazor could only guess it was the work of Jet's time break technique. Erazor turned completely around to find Jet standing protectivly in front of Scheherazadea.

"So you're the queen?" Jet asked. Scheherazadea nodded. "And you couldn't have told me that sooner? You could have saved me a black eye."

"You just don't know when to die." Erazor said.

"Well, I couldn't just keel over with showing off my new attack." Jet smirked.

Jet croutched down with his arms crossed and his fans held behind his back. At that moment, Jet's ring began to glow. Instead of time stopping as Erazor excepted, nothing happened at all. Just then, Jet harply turned his head up and bolted past Erazor with speed that even Sonic could respect. There was a moment of uneasy silance. Just then, Erazor doubled over in pain and started coughing up blood.

"What...did you...do?" Erazor gasped.

"Instead of stopping time, I made time move slower around me." Jet smirked. " I call it my Time Shooter."

"This...isn't...over." Erazor said.

Erazor, knowing he was defeated, evaporated into a puff of black smoke. Shahra and Scheherazadea gathered around Jet as they watched Erazor disappear from the book. Just then, Sinbad came back.

"Hey, what'd I miss?" Sinbad asked.

The three glared at Sinbad before punching him in the face. Later, Jet, Sinbad, and Shahra returned to Sharyar's palace. Jet and the others kneeled before the king, bearing news of their adventure.

"So Erazor Djinn returned?" Shahryar asked. They nodded. "And you defeated him?" they nodded again. "And after all this, you still fail to find me a queen."

"Now, I wouldn't say that." Jet smiled.

Jet and the others turned to one of the palace columns and watched as Scheherazadea made her presence know. Jet smirked at shahryar's shocked expression. Shahryar slowly descended from his throne before running to embrace his queen.

"Scheherazadea, I can't believe it's you." Shahryar said with joy.

"I was afraid of Erazor's power, so I hid." Scheherazadea explained as she broke the embrace. "But now I no longer have a reason to fear. Now that I know that heroes like Jet will always be there to save us."

"So, does that mean that you will become my queen once again." Shahryar asked hopefully.

"I promise nothing will separate us again." Scheherazadea said.

The two embraced once more, this time with nothing to stop them. The trio watched proudly at their work. Even Sinbad seemed to shed a few tears at the sight.

"So, that's it?" Jet asked.

"Yes. Now that the King and queen are together, the Arabian Nights is safe." Shahra said. "Now, I believe it is time for you to return home. Thank you for saving us...again, Jet."

"Anytime." Jet shrugged.

And with a wave of Shahra's hands, Jet evaporated and disappeared from the confines of the book pages.

* * *

Back at the heroes base, Jet's book slowly rumbled before ejecting Jet from within it.

"You would think they would put an air bag there." Jet said as he walked out of the storage room. "(Yawns) Ugh, I can't wait to hit the sack again."

Jet was headed for bed when the sun slowly rose from the horizon. Jet stood, mouth in gape, as he realized it took the entire night away. Just then, Jet's masculine roommate entered the hallway.

"Hey, boss." Storm said. Jet collapsed to the floor. "Was it something I said?"

* * *

At the Dark Rulers castle, Erazor crashed landed in the center of the castle. What he didn't realize was that he landed in front of Nazo, who was staring blankly from his throne.

"Ah! Master!" Erazor screech as he bowed for mercy. "Master, please forgive me. I have failed you, but I can make up for it." When Erazor was punished, he noticed that Nazo was not paying any attention to his pleas. "Uh...Master?"

"Huh?" Nazo said as he broke from his trance. "Oh, it's you Erazor."

"Master, you seemed troubled." Erazor said. "What's wrong?"

"It's Mephiles." Nazo stated. "Something is bothering him."

"Yeah, so?" Erazor asked.

"Nothing bothers him." Nazo claims. "Unless it's something important."

At the top of the castle roof, Mephiles gazed at the eteranl moon that forever loomed over the castle skies.

"I don't understand it." Mephiles said. "But this presence I'm feeling, it's so...familiar." Mephiles continually gazed at the moon. And for a split second, he thought he saw a flicker of flames pass by it. "I know this presence, but I just don't remember where." Mephiles gripped his claws. "There is only one place to find out."

"Soleanna."

* * *

**Lovers reunited again by an unlikely hero. What is this presence that Mephiles feels? And what connections does it have to Soleanna? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes.**

**Please, read and review.**


	19. Everlasting Fire, Part 1

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: I do not own the Sonic characters, just the OC's

Chapter Nineteen: Everlasting Fire, Part 1

Station Square was having a normal day. That is until a skyscraper blew up and two figures jumped out to land on a nearby building. One was a giant green spider monster with six arms and purple venom from its mouth sent by Nazo. The other was the hero of the day, Metal Sonic. Nazo's monster was not sent to attack the city, but to attack Metal and retrieve what he stole from Nazo. But at this rate, that doesn't look like it's going to happen.

"Is...that all you got?" the spider panted. "If I wanted to...I could beat you in a second."

Metal knew this to be a bluff. The spider had over a hundred shots, yet none of them landed. Metal, on the other hand, only landed two blows and already his enemy was ready to kick the bucket.

"This is getting boring." Metal said. Metal held his claw to his face in a sort of yawning expression. "Can we get this over with? I have other things to do, you know."

"I'll show you!" The spider exclaimed.

The spider jumped up and charged at Metal, but Metal didn't even twitch. With just the motion of his eyes, Metal created an electrical barrier around him. The spider did not realize this until he was fired and turned to ash.

"That was a big disappointment." Metal said. the sudden sound of police sirens filled the air. Metal looked over the edge to see the police surrounding it. "Better leave before they discover me. I have a reputation to keep after all."

By using chaos control, Metal disappeared and returned to Eggman's current location.

* * *

Meanwhile, Nazo and Black Doom were watching the entire fight through the viewing portal and seemed very disappointed at the results.

"Just goes to show you. Never leave a spider to do a villains work." Nazo sighed as he leaned back into his throne. "After several months, we are still nowhere close to getting back what he stole."

"Just what did he steal?" Black Doom asked.

Nazo made no motion to reply as he placed hand over his face in sheer annoyance. Just then, Mephiles walked in on them. Black Doom noticed that the air around Mephiles seemed to be unusually cold recently. He mostly figures it has something to with the object he has been sensing. Mephiles walked up to Nazo and bowed before him.

"What is it, Mephiles?" Nazo asked, clearly annoyed.

"Nazo, as you may remember, I have been detecting a familiar presence." Mephiles said.

"Yeah?" Nazo said intrigued.

"I have pinpointed it's location to be somewhere around Soleanna." Mephiles explained.

"That's where Silver and his friends are resting." Black Doom informed. "Coincidence?"

"Maybe, but we'll never know if we just stay put." Nazo said. "All right, Mephiles, you can go. But, I won't allow you to leave without taking some help."

Nazo once again summoned the display of canisters with a snap of his fingers. Nazo raised his hand to call forth a canister with a hermit crab inside and a canister with turtle. Nazo summoned a black flame in his hand and chanted.

"BLACK CHAOS: DARK MERGE!"

The two items were enshrouded within the black flames and began to form. The two formed together to create and massive bipedal creature with a razor tortoise shell and had two crab claws. The head was sort of a mixture of a snapping turtle with mutated fangs growing from the side of its face.

"Present yourself." Nazo commanded.

"I am terquine and I exist only to serve Lord Nazo." Terquine said.

"Your mission is very simple." Nazo said. "Follow Mephiles and listen to everything he says." Terquine bowed in understanding. "Now we will find out what's going on around here."

* * *

The scene then changes to the mountain ruins of Kingdom Valley. There, two residents of the town were exploring the ancient ruins of the former castle, looking form something.

I'm telling you, I really saw It." The first man said.

"Yeah, right." The second man said in disbelief. "You saw a black rock with glowing red eyes. Yeah, that's believable." The two scoured hopelessly for the object that the man described. Unknown to them, they were being watched. "Just give it up, man. Whatever you saw, it's not here."

"But I'm telling you, I did see It." The first man said.

"Whatever." The second shrugged it off.

Just as the men were about to leave, the atmosphere around them became unusual hot. They new it was impossible to be this hot since it was only exiting the winter season. They then noticed a giant figure looming over them and looked back. After that, the only thing that could be heard was two painful screams and monstrous roar.

* * *

The scene then takes place to the town of Soleanna itself. Silver and Blaze were relaxing at Silver's favorite café from his first story. Also ironically joining them was Team Virtex. And you know if Raine was there, Charmy wasn't far behind. Just then, Silver's friend that worked here came up to them.

"Hey, Silver, man. How's life treating you?" the server said **(we'll call him Mark from now on)**.

"Well, I've had better days." Silver said. "It's just nice to get out of the hero business once and a while."

"So I guess it's just the usual for you and your lovely lady friend?" Mark asked.

"Yeah, I get what ever you can find for them." Silver said as he pointed to Charmy and Team Virtex.

"Got it." Mark said as he walked back.

"So what made you guys decide to come here anyway?" Blaze asked.

"After handling nine undercover jobs in a row, we thought we deserve a break from work." Recter said. "It was just mere coincidence that we ran into you."

"I think Charmy would disagree with you there." Silver looked over to the two young insects staring at each other with loving expressions. "He's the one that led us here in the first place."

"You know, I think they're starting to become serious." Blaze commented.

"Not likely." Recter stated. "She's only a little girl. She doesn't know what love is."

"Amy was nine when she fell in love with Sonic." Silver stated.

"That's it! I'm pulling the plug on this!" Recter said in his usual overprotective manner.

Recter jumped up from his chair and stomped over to the young insects until Howl grabbed him by his quill.

"Sit down!" Howl commanded. Howl pulled Recter back to his seat. "Honestly, Recter, you need to learn how to relax."

"I'll relax when I want to!" Recter exclaimed. Just as Mark had returned with their food, a random laser shot zipped past him and knocked him off his feet. The heroes turned completely around and found Mephiles in the center of a squadron of Black Warriors. The heroes quickly jumped from their chairs. "And this is not one of those times."

"Mephiles, what are you doing here?" Silver questioned.

"This has nothing to do with you, Silver." Mephiles said. "But if you wish to fight, then you will have one." Mephiles raised his claw to command the aliens. "Kill them while I continue my search."

"Search?" Silver whispered.

Mephiles waved his hand to signal the Black Warriors to attack, while Mephiles remained in place. The six charged in at once and jumped into the pile of dark aliens. Recter grabbed two aliens by their legs and smashed them together before throwing them into the ocean. Howl decided to pull his sword and held it forward, opposed to his usual style. Howl swung his sword in a diagonal angle and flips it around to stab the alien behind him. Howl and Recter went back to back.

"Recter, have you noticed something about Mephiles?" Howl asked as he blocked another alien.

"Like what?" Recter asked while punching another alien.

"He hasn't moved at all." Howl stated. He noticed that even with all fighting, Mephiles hadn't moved a muscle. "It's as if he's not trying to fight."

"Better for us." Recter commented.

Blaze swung around to kick another black warrior across the head. Another black warrior snuck up behind her and wrapped its arms around to keep her in a lock. Blaze smirked as she decided to bring the heat, literally. Blaze focused all of her heat into her body and made her hotter then lava. The black warrior cried in pain as its arms were singed off. Black broke free and grabbed a hold of the warriors head to melt it off.

"You know, I think I might be enjoying this too much." Blaze commented.

Raine swooped around the air and tried to avoid the black warriors. Unfortunately, one black warrior jumped in her path and grabbed her by her wings. Raine tried to reach for her vials in her jacket, but another black warrior grabbed arms to stop her. Another black warrior raised it laser to her head and prepared to fire until.

"Help!" Raine cried.

"Leave her alone!" Charmy exclaimed.

Charmy flew out of nowhere and pointed his stinger at the black warrior's eye. He landed his mark and forced the aliens to release Raine. Raine took this opportunity to reach into her jacket and pulled out a vial of stomach virus power. Raine tossed the powder over the alien's heads. Since the black warriors had no mouths to eject from, they all blew up from the inside.

"Nice work." Charmy commented.

"Thanks you for saving me." Raine said. Charmy blushed at that. Then, Raine gave Charmy a peck on the cheek, causing the young bee to faint. "You're not dead, are you?"

Silver was using his psychokinetic powers to force a barrier to protect himself from the black warrior's attacks. But even with his enemies attacking him from all directions, his attention was focused on Mephiles. Just by looking at him, it appeared that he was asleep.

"_What is he doing?" _Silver mentally asked himself. _"He said he was searching for something, but what?" _Silver's thoughts were interrupted by an annoying banging on his shield. "You know, you're really starting to annoy me."

Silver clapped his hands together and expanded his shield to toss the aliens in all directions. One of the black warriors was head for Mephiles direction. Mephiles eyes remained closed, but he swung his claw to slice the flying warrior in half. All the heroes (except Charmy) made their stand against Mephiles.

"All right, Mephiles, talk!" Silver demanded. "What are you looking for?"

But Mephiles remained in his close-eyed state. This ticked Silver off. Silver charged in recklessly and raised his fist to punch the dark demon. But before he could even reach him, Silver was hit by a jet of water that sent his flying into the ocean.

"What was that?" Blaze questioned. The four remaining heroes looked over to see Terquine with his claw stretched out. "And I thought things couldn't get any uglier."

"So who are you supposed to be, freak?" Howl questioned.

"My name is terquine and I'm gonna wash you away!" Terquine exclaimed.

Terquine held out his claw and ejected a stream of rushing water. Howl jumped in front of the group and raised his sword to block. But the blast was too powerful and knocked Howl's sword away and knocked the grey wolf off his feet. Terquine jumped up to slam his claw at Howl's head, but Recter acted quickly by pulling his friend to safety. Terquine tried to pull his claw out of the ground when Blaze went on the attack.

"Let's see if you can take the heat." Blaze said.

Blaze kicked off the ground and twisted around to enclose herself in a tornado of flames. Terquine tugged at his claw, but showed no signs of help. As the burning tornado moved closer, Terquine suddenly twisted his head and ejected a stream of water from his mouth. The force of the attack doused Blaze's flames and forced her back to the wall. Finally, Terquine broke his claw free from the ground.

"Hahaha!" Terquine laughed maniacally. "I've seen better under a rock."

"Then how about I send you back!"

Terquine twisted his head around just in time to see Recter throw a punch to his face. By sheer luck, Terquine closed his mutated fangs to entrap Recter's fist. Recter could only feel agonizing pain as the monsters fangs dug deeper into his arm. When Terquine finally let him go, it was only so that he could punch Recter in the chest with his claw. Recter landed next to Howl and Raine was already at their side. Meanwhile, Silver pulled himself out of the ocean just as Mephiles broke from his trance.

"I found it!" Mephiles exclaimed.

Mephiles conjured a shadow ball in his hand and allowed it to engulf him. But Silver was not about to let him go that easily Silver jumped out of the water and dived straight for his arch-enemy.

"I won't let you go, Mephiles!" Silver yelled.

Silver jumped into the purple shadow ball just as it disappeared. Terquine, who was watching the entire scene, merely laughed before turning back to his prey.

"Look's like it's just you and me, my pretties." Terquine cackled.

"You know, that's sounded so wrong." Recter smirked.

"I guess we should be thankful." Howl said. Recter and Howl slowly pulled themselves up and Howl grabbed his sword. "Now that leaves more for us to take care of."

As the two stood up, he noticed that al the damage he had created had disappeared as if it had never been there.

"But...how?!" Terquine panicked. "You should at least show some injury!"

"It helps when you have a seven year-old medical genius o the team." Recter said as he pointed to a grinning Raine. "Now I think it's time we got serious, don't you think guys?"

Raine grinned as she pulled out a vial of black liquid and Howl flipped his blade around so that he has holding it upside-down. As Recter started cracking his knuckles, Terquine began sweating bullets.

"Y-y-you mean...you haven't been fighting seriously?" Terquine said nervously.

"We never show our true power in the first round." Recter stated with a mischievous smile. "And you're about to find out why. Team Virtex, Blind Blitz!"

The trio scattered with Raine flying straight with Recter following behind and Howl running off to the side. Terquine quickly swiped his claw at Raine, but the butterfly swerved around to avoid it. At that moment, Raine pulled out the black vial and tossed the liquid at Terquine's eyes.

"AAH! My eyes!" Terquine screamed. "What have you done?!"

"Just a little something called methanol." Raine explained. "It's known to cause blindness."

While Terquine scurried around, trying to regain his senses, Recter applied a direct punch to the turtle's chest. Terquine doubled over in pain from the punch and even started coughing up blue blood. Recter then twisted Terquine's claw around before spinning around and hurtling him up into the air.

"It's all yours howl." Recter said.

Howl skidded underneath the spot where Terquine would land and placed his blade back in its sheath. Howl closed his eyes to focus on his target before snapping them open. Before Terquine had a chance to realize it, Howl unsheathed his sword and cut across Terquine's body, cutting him into numerous pieces. But even after all that, Terquine still seemed to be alive. Terquine mentally commanded his claw and swung it at Howl's head.

"Watch out!" Blaze screamed.

Howl looked back to see the claw coming at him and realized he couldn't avoid it. Just when he seemed finished, Blaze suddenly jumped off his head and formed a fireball from her mouth. The fireball incinerated the claw and all of the other body parts to be rid of the monster forever.

"Hey, thanks, Blaze. You just saved our sword guy." Recter said.

"Yeah, thanks." Howl grumbled while tending to the spot where Blaze's heel landed.

Meanwhile, Raine was trying to wake Charmy with some smelling salts, but it wasn't working.

"He's not waking up." Raine informed.

"I could get some of Knuckles old gym socks." Blaze smiled deviously.

"I'm up!" Charmy screamed as he shot straight up.

"I thought that would work." Blaze smirked. Blaze then took notice of her boyfriend's disappearance. "Hey, where's Silver?"

"I don't know. He just disappeared with Mephiles." Howl informed.

"I hope he's ok." Blaze said in a worried manner.

* * *

The shadow ball that Mephiles created appeared in the center of the ruin that once stood as the castle of Soleanna in Kingdom Valley. Mephiles calmly jumped down from his orb while Silver fell flat into the ground. Silver quickly jumped to his feet and confronted the dark demon.

"All right, Mephiles, the game is up!" Silver exclaimed. "Now what are you doing here?"

"Quiet, you fool." Mephiles said calmly. "If you stay quiet for a moment, I will explain everything." Silver lowered his guard, but still didn't trust Mephiles. "Do you remember when you traveled to the future with Metal?"

"How did you know that?" Silver questioned in surprise.

"Nothing escapes Nazo's watchful eyes." Mephiles claimed. "Ever since you returned, I have been sensing a familiar power present."

"A power?" Silver repeated.

"Yes. And I know it's around here...somewhere." Mephiles said.

Mephiles and Silver scanned the area for whatever Mephiles was looking for. Suddenly, the atmosphere around them started to heat up and the ground started shaking.

"What's happening?" Silver asked.

"I don't know." Mephiles said.

The ground suddenly began to break apart and the two enemies jumped back from falling in. Suddenly, Silver could also feel the same presence that Mephiles felt. To him, it also seemed familiar.

"_What is this?"_ Silver mentally asked himself. _"It's like...I know it from somewhere."_

Inside the newly formed chasm, a fountain of lava began to spew from the Earth. Lava rocks began to form within the hot magma. The rock then came to life without warning and attempted to escape the chasm. The lava and rocks began to meld together and grew to an enormous monstrosity. Mephiles and Silver's eyes bugged out when they saw the monsters completed form.

"It...Can't be." Silver said; his voice filled with horror.

"But it is." Mephiles said, who's expression was opposite of Silver's. Mephiles started out with a low chuckle before breaking out into a full scale evil laugh. "I just find it hard to believe. After all this time, my purpose will finally be realized. And once again we shall rejoin once again." Mephiles held his claws out to the creature in acceptance. "Let us come together again, my brother..."

"IBLIS!"

* * *

**The Flame of Disaster lives once more. Will Silver be able to defeat it? Or will Mephiles have the last laugh? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes.**

**Please, read and review.**


	20. Everlasting Fire, Part 2

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: I do not own the Sonic characters, just the OC's

Chapter Twenty: Everlasting Fire, Part 2

Silver could only stare in fear as his greatest fear had come true. Iblis, the Flames of Disaster, had returned. Iblis lowered its head down to its darker brother, Mephiles. Surprisingly enough, Mephiles began to pat the flaming monsters head like it was a pup.

"It is good to see you again, my brother." Mephiles said. "Nothing has changed about you."

"_How is this possible?" _Silver mentally panicked. _"We blew out the flames of Solaris. Iblis shouldn't even be here."_

"That is true, but I still exist." Mephiles suddenly said. "Perhaps Iblis was able to find some way to escape extinction as well."

Silver's mind was completely going into overdrive. First, Iblis came back and now Mephiles was reading his mind. This was not natural under any circumstances.

"Did...you just read my mind?" Silver said in shock.

"Of course not. You just said it out loud." Mephiles stated, completely oblivious that he didn't.

"I didn't say it, but I thought about it." Silver stated.

"_If what you say is true, then you should be able to read my thoughts." _Mephiles mentally said.

"I did!" Silver exclaimed. "How is this happening?"

Even Mephiles didn't have an answer. Such powers seemed unimaginable. But even if they did have this power, why was it only reacting now. Suddenly, Mephiles remembered something that Nazo told him when they first met.

* * *

---_Flashback---_

"Silver's has a kind of chaos energy that is different then others. Your powers accidentally merged with his, making you both immune to the time paradox." Nazo informed. "Basically saying, you and Silver are connected.

_---End Flashback---

* * *

_

As Mephiles resurfaced from his memories, he did not take notice of Silver's blank stare. Mephiles had understood the connection and prepared to explain it. But Silver beat him to the point.

"So it's all because of your mistake." Silver took pride in saying that. "We are not only immune to the timeline, but our minds are connected too."

"I see that minds aren't the only thing we can see from each other." Mephiles said, not the slightest surprised. He turned back to Iblis and placed his claw on its rocky head. "You can see into my memories. Let's see if you can do the same to him."

Mephiles roamed his claw around the beasts head before digging into it. Iblis may be a mindless beast, but even he has memories. Both he and Silver saw the memories of Iblis' terror, his battles against Silver, and the final battle as Solaris. Mephiles stopped at one point when he found some thing of interest.

* * *

_---Flashback---_

"Silver, use chaos control to stop time and seal us into another dimension." Blaze said; struggling to keep Iblis sealed.

"No! I can't do that to you!" Silver said.

"Didn't we go through this already? We agreed to save the world at any price!" Blaze reminded him.

Hesitantly, Silver grabbed another chaos emerald and reeled his hand back to use chaos control. But he couldn't go through with it.

"I can't! I wouldn't know what to do without you! You fought along side me to save the world! You're my friend...right?" Silver asked, on the verge of an emotional breakdown.

"You're still naïve." Blaze said as she turned to face him. "But...that's one of the reasons...why I loved you."

Blaze walked closer to the grey hedgehog and tilted her head and moved closer until her own lips made contact with his. After a moment to embrace it, Blaze pulled away as her body began to become transparent. Blaze dropped the chaos emeralds and felt herself being pulled into the darkened skies.

"Blaze!" Silver cried.

"Good luck, Silver." Were Blaze's final words.

Blaze finally reached the cloud and exploded in a ray of warming light. Suddenly, Blaze found herself in an empty dimension. Realizing she couldn't hold it any longer, Blaze released the fire within her. Iblis turned its head and glared with great anger towards the fire cat. Iblis raised its claw to kill her until a flash of light blinded it. After regaining it senses, Iblis found that Blaze was no longer present. Minutes turned to hours, hours turned to days, and days turned to months. Iblis began to lose all hope of escaping. Suddenly, a white vortex appeared before it. After close inspection, it saw Silver and Metal traveling through the vortex. Iblis wanted to follow, but it was too big. So, Iblis ripped off its head and threw it into the vortex before it closed.

_---End Flashback---

* * *

_

"So that's how he escaped." Mephiles chuckled. "Looks like you're the one at fault this time, Silver."

"So I made one mistake. But it's one I'll easily correct!" Silver exclaimed.

Silver gathered a bundle of psychic energy and threw it towards Mephiles. It had almost reached him until Iblis flew out its block the attack. Silver growled. He realized the only way to Mephiles was to defeat Iblis. Silver floated into the air and made a charge at Iblis. The flaming monster swung its claws at Silver, but missed with every swing. Iblis was starting to become annoyed and opened its chest to fire a barrage of fireballs.

"This trick again." Silver rolled his eyes. "Looks like you haven't learned anything at all." Silver used his psychokinetic powers to the fireballs. "Here! I think these are yours!"

Silver threw the fireballs back at Iblis' head. Iblis, not making the same mistake twice, swiped away the fireballs before they could reach him. Iblis returned his attention to Silver, only to find that he wasn't there. Iblis scanned the area for the grey hedgehog until said hedgehog landed on its head. Silver smirked as he crouched down and placed his hand on Iblis' head.

"Let's see if this will jog your memory." Silver chuckled. Silver released a pulse of energy inside Iblis' head. But when he thought he had won, Iblis reached up and grabbed him. Silver was stunned to see that his attack didn't work. "But how? That should have worked."

"Hahaha! You used that trick to defeat the fake Iblis I created." Mephiles explained. "The real Iblis is much more powerful and will not succumb to such tricks. Now, finish it, brother." Iblis threw Silver into the ground and punched him farther into the Earth, burying him under a ton of rock. "That went easier then expected. But still, his friends may come looking for them and that may prove to be an annoyance." Iblis moved closer to its brother and Mephiles placed its claw to its head. "Now, let's see what else you know."

An hour later, Blaze, Charmy, and Team Virtex were scouring through the forest of Kingdom Valley in search of Silver. Blaze acted as leader because she held a tracking device that was pinpointed on Silver's distinct chaos energy. 

"Thank God Tails built this." Blaze said.

"Why on Earth would the fox build a device to track energy?" Recter questions.

"Who knows? I always thought that Tails was weird in the first place." Blaze said. Just then, the tracker began to beep rapidly. "He's close by!" Blaze ran ahead of the group until she reached the ruined castle. She pointed the tracker around until it stopped at pile of boulders. "He's under there!"

Recter, with his overwhelming strength, picked up the boulders effortlessly. Slowly and gradually, Recter was able to spot a trace of grey. Recter shoved the rocks away, and found Silver lying unconscious. Raine tried using some smelling salts to wake him, but they didn't work. It was time to bring out the heavy artillery. Everyone held their noses as Recter pulled off his sock and held it to Silver's nose. The grey hedgehog's eyes instantly flew open and jumped back while covering his nose.

"Oh my god, what is that?!" Silver yelled.

"My gym sock that I haven't washed yet." Recter said simply. "We were trying wake you."

"By killing me?!" Silver exclaimed.

"Come on, it can't be that bad." Raine said.

Raine let go of her nose and breathed in the air. Unfortunately, the scent of Recter's sock reached her nose and promptly knocked her out.

"You really need to clean that thing." Howl said as he started to become dizzy.

"Everyone's a critic." Recter said as put his shoe back on.

"Blaze, did you bring any chaos emeralds?" Silver asked as he limped over to them.

"One. why?" Blaze asked.

"Cause I think we're going to need it." Silver said.

"For what?" Howl asked.

Suddenly, the earth began to shake and crack open again. Iblis claw his way out of the chasm with Mephiles sitting at the top of his head. Most of the heroes jumped back in shock that such a monster could exist. Except for Raine. She was still out cold. Mephiles took great joy in their scared expressions and jumped down to confront them.

"Is that...?" Blaze asked.

"Yeah. That's Iblis." Silver said. Blaze secretly hand Silver the white chaos emerald. "Do you think you guys can distract them long enough for me to perform another seal?"

"That doesn't sound too hard." Recter said as he cracked his knuckles. "But I feel that I should tell you that it won't be free."

"Fine, we'll pay you." Blaze said irritably. "Just take care of Iblis. Mephiles is mine."

"A pleasure doing business with you." Recter laughed.

"Let's make this a good fight." Mephiles said. Mephiles raised his claw to Iblis and said. "Kill them."

Iblis reeled back its head before throwing it back to cough up a massive fireball. Recter grabbed Raine and Blaze grabbed Silver before the entire team jumped away. Once Recter set Raine down, he bashed his fist together to intimidate his opponent. Recter kicked his foot to one of the remaining pole and broke it off. Iblis threw its claw to Recter, but the red hedgehog jumped to avoid it. at that moment, Recter thrust the pole through Iblis' claw. Iblis roared in pain as it tried to release its claw. Recter struggled to keep Iblis down, but was slow losing his grip.

"A little help would be appreciated!" Recter screamed.

"I thought you the 'King of Combat'" Howl said sarcastically.

"Help now or I'll be you to a pulp!" Recter threatened.

"Cranky king." Howl joked.

Recter growled at his partner. When he turned his attention back to Iblis, he found that the fire monster wanted to crush him with is other claw. As Iblis swung its claw down, Howl jumped out of nowhere and pulled Recter to safety. Iblis was about to strike again when it felt a sudden pain. It was then that both of its claws were severed from its body. Iblis growled at Howl's smirk with his sword over his shoulder.

"That fast enough for you?" Howl smiled. Recter punched him in the face. "Apparently not."

Well, at least that thing is out of commission." Recter said. Iblis waved its wrists and restored its claws. "And I know nothing."

Iblis moved in for the kill when Charmy suddenly flew in front of him.

"You think you're so tough, Mr. monster!" Charmy shouted. Charmy started to punch and kick the large beast, but was actually doing nothing. "Had enough?"

Iblis was becoming annoyed and raised his claw to flick the bug away. Charmy flew over the walls and landed in the forest in a swarm of wasps. Charmy cries of pain could be heard all the way from the ruins.

"He didn't have a chance, did he?" Howl asked.

"No, but you got to give him credit for trying." Recter nodded.

With Blaze and Mephiles. Blaze was assaulting Mephiles with a barrage of burning punches and kicks. But Mephiles avoided them like they were nothing. Blaze was ticked off that Mephiles was making her look like a fool and he wasn't even fighting back. She pushed Mephiles back until they were near the chasm where Iblis popped up. Blaze wanted to end this with a burning swipe, but Mephiles flipped over her easily. Blaze growled furiously while Mephiles chuckled.

"It would seem that love has made you soft." Mephiles said. "You're not nearly as powerful as you use to be."

"You don't know anything about me!" Blaze exclaimed as she ignited her hands again.

"I know more then you think...your majesty." Mephiles said sinisterly.

Blaze's eyes went wide in shock and unwillingly allowed her flames to die out. Just those two words seemed to have sent Blaze in a wave of panic.

"H-how?" Blaze stuttered. "How did you know?"

"When you and Iblis were temporarily connected, Iblis snuck a peek at your memories." Mephiles explained. "It was through him I learned the truth about everything, princess."

"Everything?" Blaze asked.

"Everything." Mephiles stated. "I learned that you reside from another dimension opposite to this one. It was your responsibility to protect the world." Mephiles attitude became more cocky and arrogant. "It's ironic really. You escape your dimension to escape the responsibility, only to be faced with even great ones. That girl must miss you greatly. Poor Marine."

"Shut up!" Blaze flared.

Blaze threw a flaming fist at Mephiles' face and nailed a direct blow. Mephiles was hurtled across the ruin and crashed into the walls. The wall collapse on the demon and buried him under a ton of rubble. Blaze began to regret that as she had used up most of her energy at that one attack. It was a sad fact that Mephiles had reverted to a puddle of ooze before being crushed and reshaped outside the rubble.

"How very foolish." Mephiles said. "To let your anger get the best of you. now you have left yourself defenseless."

Mephiles held out his hand and formed a chaos lance from it. Blaze remained motionless and closed her eyes to await the oncoming attack. But surprisingly enough, when Mephiles fired the shot, he purposely missed.

"What are you doing?" Blaze asked seriously.

"You may come in more handy then I thought." Mephiles said as he turned his back to her. "Besides, killing you would be worthless in a few moments anyway." Mephiles raised his hand to summon up a shadow ball. "Till next time, Princess Blaze."

Mephiles disappeared within his shadow ball, leaving a concerned and confused Blaze behind. Blaze's attention was returned to Iblis. That was until the Recter, Howl, Charmy, and Rain piled up on her.

"As if Big wasn't bad enough." Blaze's muffled voice whined.

Iblis let out a victorious roar over its success. No matter what the heroes tried, they just couldn't find a way to defeat the Flames of Disaster. Iblis began to open his chest to use his regular attack when a green blast of energy hit the side of its head. Iblis growled as it was locked in a stare down with Silver. Blaze clawed her wa out under the pile and found Silver facing Iblis.

"Silver, what are you doing?" Blaze questioned.

"Trust me, Blaze. I know what I'm doing." Silver smirked.

Iblis thrust his claw at the ground where Silver stood. Silver used his Psychokinetic powers to create a force field to protect himself. Iblis claw bounced off and tried again. Both times failed and it tried over and over again. Realizing it wasn't getting anywhere; Iblis did the one thing I could: Swallow him whole.

"Silver!" Blaze screamed.

Iblis roar in victory now that its greatest enemy was finished. The five heroes rose to their feet to defend themselves against the burning threat. Iblis moved in close to finish the battle when a familiar voice sounded.

"Chaos emerald, lend me your power." Iblis looked to its chest and found something glowing inside. Silver was still alive and purposely got eaten to get close to Iblis' core. "Eternal sun! The living flame that has been entrusted to the royal family! Fall into slumber with my soul, Iblis! You cursed flames of disaster!"

Iblis groaned in pain as it felt itself being forced inside Silver's chest. Iblis struggled to break free, but Silver's will was too strong. Iblis had no choice but to submit and complete the seal. With the process complete, Silver fell from the sky unconscious. Blaze quickly reacted and caught Silver before he hit. Blaze began to mourn for Silver when she realized it was the same seal that she used before.

"Silver, you idiot." Blaze cried. "How could you die on me?"

"Maybe because I wanted to see you reaction." Blaze's eyes shot wide open when she found Silver smirking at her. "It's good to know you care." Blaze let him drop on his head. "Ow! Show some respect for the dead."

"Do you know how worried I was?!" Blaze screamed, scaring Silver a bit. "Just what were you trying to prove?!"

"Nothing." Silver said quickly. "I was just sealing Iblis away for good."

"But why aren't you dead?" Blaze asked.

"When I looked into Iblis' memories. I learned that you didn't die." Silver explained. "I figured that if you didn't die, I should either. But now I am cursed as Iblis' keeper"

"Well, I'm just glad you're safe." Blaze said. Blaze hugged her boyfriend closely before saying. "But if you do something like that again, I'll make sure you never have any kids."

"Yes, ma'am." Silver said cowardly.

"Well, it's good to see that your safe." Recter said as the others joined him. "Now there's the matter of the bill."

Raine pulled out a miniature register and started to type in all the actions. Afterwards, a sheet of paper emerged from the machine and she handed it to Silver. Blaze and Charmy gathered around Silver. Their literally eyes bugged out and they let out a bloodcurdling scream.

"WWWWWHHHHHAAAAATTTTT?!?!?!"

* * *

Back at the Dark Rulers castle, Mephiles reappeared in the central chamber with Nazo waiting for him on his throne. As per usual, Mephiles was keeping track of things with his chess board of figures. Momentarily, Iblis was on the board before it disappeared. 

"So I see you have found what you were looking for." Nazo said.

"Yes, but now my brother is trapped within Silver." Mephiles stated. "It will be exceptionally difficult to pry it from him."

"What I don't understand is why you didn't become Solaris when you had the chance." Nazo said. "If you did, you would have been more powerful then even I."

"There is only one person destined to rule the galaxy." Mephiles stated. "And that is you...Lord Nazo."

"It's good to know where you're loyalties lie." Nazo smiled with pride. "But knowing you, you wouldn't give up without have another plan. What is it?"

"I think I have figured out a way to retrieve what Metal Sonic stole from you." Mephiles said calmly.

"Explain." Nazo demanded. All of a sudden, Mephiles began to laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Lord Nazo." Mephiles began. "Have you ever heard of...The Sol Emeralds?"

* * *

**Silver has contained Iblis and hopefully it will last this time. What is Blaze's secret? What _did _Metal take? And what are the Sol Emearalds? Find on the next Sonic Heroes.**

**Please, read and review.**


	21. Pirate Problems

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: I do not own the Sonic characters, just the OC's

Chapter Twenty-One: Pirate Problems

It has been a week since the Iblis incident and the heroes have seen the Dark Rulers at all. They did have a few encounters with Eggman's black clones, but they weren't any problem. Earlier today, Sonic, Shadow, and Knuckles were asked to act as guards for a new prisoner being transported to the newly constructed Prison Island. Now normally, the heroes wouldn't accept a job like this, but Sonic insisted on it. The three were currently waiting as the boat arrives at the island harbor.

"Exactly who are we supposed to be guarding?" Knuckles asked.

"Some guy named Gale." Shadow explained. "He is rumored to be the King of Pirates."

"Pirates still exist?" Knuckles asked.

"Yes, especially in the Caribbean." Shadow said. "I can't believe we got stuck with guard duty."

"Then why did you accept it?" Knuckles asked.

"I didn't, Sonic did." Shadow said as he looked towards his best friend. _"But the question is, why?"_

Sonic seemed extremely serious as opposed to his usual carefree attitude. Something about this 'Gale' guy was bothering him. The ship finally came into harbor. Ten G.U.N. soldiers lined up as the commander walked up to the trio of heroes.

"Nice to see that all of you were able to come." The commander greeted.

"Yeah, that's nice. Where's that pirate guy?" Sonic said impatiently.

"Be warned. This isn't just any pirate. This is the king of pirates." The commander expressed. "He cunning, he's crafty, and he's..." the commander was interrupted when one of the soldiers walked up to him. The soldier whispered something into his ear and he yelled. "Gone?! What do you mean he's gone?!"

"Just as it sounds like." Shadow smirked.

"Don't just stand there! Find him!" the commander yelled.

The soldiers scrabbled around in search of the pirate. While everyone was running around, Shadow saw something move through the water. Shadow called for Sonic and Knuckles attention and pointed to the water. There they saw something moving under the water, using a straw to breathe in air. Knuckles moved in closer to the straw and reached behind his back to pull out a bottle of flaming-hot sauce.

"Why do you carry a bottle of hot sauce?" Sonic asked.

"I don't know." Knuckles said.

Knuckles poured the bottle into the straw and waited for a reaction. The water around started to boil until the pirate king jumped out screaming. The pirate king a blue hedgehog that looked to be in his late thirties. He had six contoured quills and wore white gloves, brown tattered boots and coat, a red sash, and a red bandanna on his head. The pirate jumped onto the beach and started licking the sand. He had suddenly realized he was surrounded by soldiers.

"Uh...Parlay?" Gale asked nervously. The soldiers aimed their guns until. "Look! Over there!"

The soldiers were stupid enough to look behind them, allowing Gale to make a break away.

"I can't believe they fell for that." Shadow commented.

As Gale made a run for the jungle, he looked back to see that Knuckles was chasing him. Knuckles jumped forward and threw a hard jab towards Gale. The pirate hedgehog quickly jumped out of the way and Knuckles bashed his fist against a tree. Knuckles turned to Gale with a glare. Gale smirked and pointed to the side. Knuckles looked over just in time to see the tree he hit crash on top of him. Gale chuckled for a moment before turning to run away. Unfortunately his path was blocked by Sonic. Gale looked shocked at the sight of the hedgehog.

"What are you doing here?" Gale asked. Just then, Shadow and the soldiers caught up to him. Acting quickly, Gale pulled out a pistol and held it to Sonic's head. "Nobody move or the rat gets it! Now, hedgehog, if you will please move." But Sonic didn't. "Please move." Sonic stood where he was. "I don't want to do this, Sonic."

But Sonic remained stern. Suddenly, a coconut dropped out of nowhere and landed on Gale's head. The pirate then dropped unconscious.

"Well that was anticlimactic." Shadow commented.

"Men, taking him to the prison. We have a lot to catch up on." The commander said.

The soldiers grabbed the unconscious Gale and dragged him to the prison in the center of the island. Sonic watched them carry the hedgehog away with a sad expression on his face. Shadow walked up to him.

"Come on, let's go." Shadow said.

"Ok." Sonic said. Sonic the two walked along with the soldiers, Sonic suddenly asked. "Do you feel like we're forgetting something?"

"Help?" Knuckles muffled voice asked.

* * *

Later, the three heroes joined the commander in a court room inside the prison. Gale stood in the center, handcuffed, as one soldier began reading from a prewritten document from the president. 

"Gale the Hedgehog." The soldier began.

"Captain." Gale whispered. "Captain Gale the Hedgehog."

You are charged with the following:" The soldier continued. "Smuggling, forgery, looting, poaching, brigandage, depravity, vandalism, impersinating a cleric." Gale smiled at that one. "Arson, kidnapping, piracy, perjury, and over all wrong doing. As such, you are to be shot to death at noon tommorow."

"Well, can't say I didn't live life to the fullest." Gale chuckled.

"You will be kept under constant watch until noon tomorrow." The commander said. "Take him away."

Two soldiers grabbed Gale by his arms and dragged him away to his cell. As they pasted by, Gale shot Sonic a smirk, which Shadow saw.

"Do you know that guy, Sonic?" Shadow asked suspiciously.

"Eh, we met once or twice." Sonic smiled.

Shadow knew Sonic was hiding something. The scene turned to midnight on Prison Island, which meant they were only twelve hours away from the execution. But surprisingly, Gale did not seem worried. He was lying in his bed, whistling 'A pirate's life for me' to himself. He stopped once the guard started banging against his cell.

"Keep it down it there!" the guard yelled. "I would be worried if I was you."

"Eh, I've died before." Gale said calmly. "Not a very pleasant experience."

"Freak." The guard commented.

Gale went back to whistling, which really began to irritate the guard. Suddenly, Sonic walked up to the guard and said.

"Hey, it's my turn to take over."

"But I don't get off shift for another twenty minute." The guard said. Gale continued to whistle. "Good luck with that."

Sonic watched as the guard walked down the hall and disappeared out of sight. Sonic turned back to the cell and curled into his ball form. Sonic performed his spin dash attack and busted down the cell door.

"Well it's about bloody time." Gale said while sitting up. "You know, for the fastest thing alive, you are slow."

"Listen, do you want to escape or not?"

"Escape. My two favorite syllables." Gale said.

Gale ran out of the cell with Sonic following behind. Gale stopped them for a moment to let two guards pass by. After they had passed, Gale took them quickly around the corner. Unfortunately, they had the displeasure of running into two more guards. Once the two saw the hedgehogs they quickly reached for their guns. Unfortunately, the two fumbled around and dropped them on the ground. The two reached for them and bang their heads together. Sonic and Gale sweat dropped at the sight.

"Who are you two?" The first guard asked as he held his gun.

"Are you new here?" Sonic asked.

"Yes, actually we are." The second guard said.

"Don't tell them that." The first guard hit him over the head. "Now tell us who you are. And no lies."

"All right, I must confess." Gale said. "I am Captain Gale the Hedgehog, scourge of the Caribbean. I have a $600 million bounty on my head and I am mostly referred to as the Pirate King."

"I said no lies." The first guard said obliviously.

"I think he's telling the truth." The second guard said.

"If he was telling the truth, he wouldn't have told us." The first guard said.

"Unless he knew you wouldn't believe the truth, even if he told you." Gale interjected.

"Yeah, yeah, he...what did he say?" The first guard asked.

"Oy, my brain hurts." The second guard said.

"Listen, why don't you two fine gentlemen take the night off?" Gale said. "We'll show ourselves out."

"Ok." The first guard waved to Sonic and Gale. "Nice man."

"I see you haven't lost your touch." Sonic smiled.

"You could learn something from me." Gale returned.

Sonic rolled his eyes before following Gale out. After avoiding the sane minded guards, the two blue hedgehogs had finally found the exit out of the prison. Check to see if the coast was clear, the two swift exited through the door and closed it behind them.

"And that is why no one can catch the infamous Captain Gale the..." Gale was interrupted when Sonic started poking his shoulder. "What? I'm in the middle of my monologue." Sonic points forward and Gale looks. "Oh, bugger."

Waiting just outside the gates of the prison was Shadow and Knuckles. Ever since the trial earlier, Shadow has been suspicious about Sonic and suggested that he and Knuckles stand guard. Obviously, he was right.

"Hey, guys, whatcha doing?" Sonic asked nervously.

"The question is what are you doing." Knuckles said.

"Uh..." Sonic had nothing.

"We suspected that you were assisting in an escape attempt." Shadow explained. "We were sent here to make sure he was properly dealt with. Knuckles, you take care of the pirate. I'll handle Sonic."

"Gotcha." Knuckles smirked. "Payback time."

Gale and Sonic exchanged glances for a moment before Gale made a break for it. Knuckles followed, leaving Sonic with Shadow.

"Shall we get going?" Shadow questioned.

Shadow turned and ran into the jungle with Sonic following. Back inside the prison, Gale quickly ran into the laundry room and dived into one of the carts of laundry. Unfortunately, he handed into a pile of the guards shorts

"I think I'm going to be sick." Gale whispered, looking ready to puke.

Knuckles smashed the door wide open and stomped into the room. His eyes scoured the entire room in search of the pirate king.

"Where are you?! I know you're here!" Knuckles shouted. Unbeknownst to him, he passed the cart that Gale was hiding in. Gale quickly jumped up and slung a pair of shorts over Knuckles head. "AAH! Get it off! It burns!"

Knuckles ran back and forth in the room until Gale tripped him. The red echidna flew into a washing machine and Gale pressed the start button.

"At least he'll go home clean." Gale joked.

* * *

Outside in the jungle, Shadow stopped near a lake bed and Sonic soon followed after. 

"Do you remember this place?" Shadow asked. Sonic looked confused for a moment. Shadow moved towards a tree and leaned against it. "I know you're not talking about me, faker."

"Now I remember." Sonic suddenly realized. "This is the place where you and I fought and I used the Sonic Wind for the first time."

"A battle we never finished." Shadow said as he moved to his fighting stance. "But that can be properly arranged."

"Bring it." Sonic challenged.

Sonic and Shadow jumped to the air a collided their arms together to try and push each other back. Sonic was successful, but this was apart of Shadow's plan. As he fell, Shadow summoned a wave of arrows to his side.

"CHAOS SPEAR!" Shadow shouted.

Sonic was quick to react and formed his signature technique into his hand.

"SONIC WIND!" Sonic shouted.

The two attacks collided and created an enormous shockwave that push the two hedgehogs away from each other. Shadow landed on his feet near the lake bead and Sonic landed into one of the trees.

"Looks like he's finally starting to get serious." Shadow smirked.

* * *

Back at the prison, Gale ran out a random door and found himself on the roof tops. Not far behind, an angry, but squeaky clean, Knuckles was rampaging behind. 

"Get back here so I can kill you!" Knuckles yelled.

"You must get all the ladies with that line." Gale said sarcastically.

Unfortunately, Gale was not watching were going and his landed in a random bucket. The pirate tripped and fell over on his face. But by sheer luck, Gale's foot that had the bucket on smashed up against Knuckles chin. The bucket flew off Gale's foot and flew into the air. Knuckles was becoming very ticked off and moved in for the kill. Just then, the bucket landed on Knuckles head. Knuckles ran around flailing his arms around until he ran smack-dab into the wall.

"I guess he's the comic relief." Gale said as he stood up. "You will always remember this as the day you almost caught Captain Gale the..." he was interrupted again as he accidentally fell over the wall and plummeted to the ground. "Ow."

* * *

Back at the real fight, Sonic seemed to be holding the advantage. It was true that Shadow was most powerful of the two, but even Shadow had to admit that Sonic was the faster one. Shadow summoned up another barrage of chaos spears, but Sonic was accustomed to avoiding them. Shadow was about to attack again when Sonic came up out of nowhere and kicked him across the face. Shadow tumbled back and landed inside the lake. 

"Hah! Too slow!" Sonic boasted.

Suddenly, the lake water turned red. Sonic looked quizzically until Shadow started to rise above the water. A red aura surrounded him and he began laughing.

"Oh, you're in for it now." Shadow said maliciously. "CHAOS BOOST!!!"

Shadow's fur turned bright red. Sonic started to panic when he realized what was happening. He knew that once Shadow used chaos boost, he abilities were increased by five times. Shadow stared down at Sonic for a while before he completely disappeared. Sonic searched left and right, but couldn't find him.

"Where did he go?" Sonic questioned.

Unfortunately, his question was soon answered. Shadow came up behind Sonic and grabbed both his arms to pull them back. To make matters worse, Shadow prodded his knee onto Sonic's back and forced him to his knees.

"All right, Sonic, time to answer some questions." Shadow said as he turned to him normal color. "Why are you helping that pirate?"

Sonic was in agonizing pain with Shadow's knee in his back and his arms being pulled out of their sockets. Sonic knew that he had no choice but to tell him.

* * *

Back with Gale, the pirate king was just pulling himself out of the hole he created. 

"I thought that only happened in cartoons." Gale said. just then, Knuckles approached him. "Oh, hello. Lovely day; isn't it."

"It's over, pirate." Knuckles said as he raised his fist. "This time, no holding back." Knuckles was ready to hit when someone grabbed his wrist. He looked back to see who it was. "Shadow? What are you doing?"

Shadow had grabbed Knuckles to stop him. Just then, A blue blur passed by and Gale went missing. They knew it could only be Sonic. as he carried Gale to the shore, he called back shouting.

"Thanks, Shadow!"

"Shadow, what's going on?!" Knuckles exclaimed. "We have to go after him!"

"Our mission was to escort the pirate to prison." Shadow said. "After that is none of our business. Besides, Sonic and Gale deserve one more chance together."

Knuckles was really confused now. But he made no arguments and let Gale get away. Down by the shore, Sonic and Gale stopped by a single sail boat that Sonic had prepared earlier.

"Here's your stop." Sonic said. "Your ship is ready for cast off, captain."

"A bit small for a grand pirate such as myself." Gale said unappreciatively.

"Just be glad you got something." Sonic remarked.

"A being the case I shall take my leave." Gale said as he pushed the oat out into open water. "But before I go, I have something for you."

Gale quickly reached into his coat and pulled out a pistol aimed for Sonic's head but surprisingly enough, Sonic was also holding a pistol aimed for Gale's head.

"Swiped it off those guards from earlier." Sonic explained.

"Just as I taught you." Gale laughed as he retuned his pistol to his coat. "It's good to see that you have not forgotten the lessons you've learned."

"It's hard to forget lessons like those." Sonic chuckled. "So...how's mom?"

"Eh, you know. The usual." Gale said bored. "Ruling her country, helping her people, what usually queens do." Gale began to chuckle. " It's funny. The benevolent Queen Aleena and the nefarious Pirate King Gale producing the world's greatest hero. Who would have thought?" Gale turned to Sonic. "I'm really proud of you...son."

"It's great to see you again, dad." Sonic hugged his father. "I missed you."

"I know, son." Gale returned the hug. "If I could, I would give up everything to be with you and your mother." Gale separated the hug. "But I can't. I am a wanted man. I would never want you to end up with the same fate as mine."

"I don't care." Sonic started to tear up. "I just want us to be a family again."

"I do too, son. But we can't all have our ways." Gale said. "Just remember, your mother and I love you, always." Gale turned away and jumped into the boat. "Of course, you could always join my crew."

"No thanks. I prefer to stay close to land." Sonic said nervously.

"You're just like your mother when I first met her." Gale chuckled. "Now I am off to Tortuga to round up my crew...again. And perhaps I'll pay a visit to your mother. But before I go, here's a gift."

Gale reached into his coat and tossed something to Sonic. Sonic caught it and moved his hands to see. In his hands was a small black box trimmed with golden edges. Sonic looked shocked at the object he was holding.

"But...this is your..." Sonic was interrupted.

"Not mine, yours." Gale said. "I figure you could use it more then I. And thus, I bid you farewell."

Gale released the sail and floated away from the island that nearly killed him. Taking a moment to look, Gale showed great pride. Not of his escape, but at how his son had grown. Sonic watch happily as his father, the King of Pirates, made his getaway. But even if his father was still alive, he was sad to lose him again. A single tear escaped from his eyes and he wiped it away. He remembered his father's words and smiled. Then suddenly, he began to hum.

"...And really bad eggs..." Sonic sung. He opened the box his father gave him and smiled even bigger. "...Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho..." he finished as he snapped the box closed.

* * *

**The greatest bond is between father and son. What does the black box contain? And will Knuckles ever learn? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes.**


	22. Double Date Dilemma

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: I do not own the Sonic characters, just the OC's

Chapter Twenty-Two: Double Date Dilemma

It was another calm and normal day at the Sonic Heroes base. Aw, who am I kidding. Once again, Kumori was bugging Shadow to take her on a date and Shadow was turning her down. But Kumori and Amy were not only similar in appearance, but in persistence as well.

"Come on, Shadow. Just one date." Kumori pleaded, giving him the puppy dog eyes.

"_Why can all girls do that?"_ Shadow questioned, feeling himself giving in. "The answer is still no."

"But why?" Kumori whined.

"Because we have to be alert." Shadow stated. "We never know when Eggman's going to attack.

* * *

At the Egg-Carrier III, Violet was reading a book called '_So you're an evil clone and you're working for an idiot'. _She was reading the chapter that suggested taking therapy until she heard a sickening sound coming from the room next to her. Mecha Shadow then ran out of the room and quickly slammed the door behind him.

"What was that?" Violet asked.

"Apparently the 'genius' ate some bad fish and got a stomach virus." Mecha said. "Now we can't do any missions."

"What about Metal?" Violet asked

"Computer virus." "Mecha responded.

"Bokkun?" Violet asked.

"He is a virus." Mecha stated. A sudden rimshot came from nowhere. "Where the hell did that come from?"

* * *

"Ok, that was a bad example." Shadow said.

"Hah! Now you don't have an excuse!" Kumori smiled wickedly.

"Yes I do." Shadow said. "I uh...need to help Knuckles train."

"Knuckles is on a date with Rouge." Kumori smirked.

"Damn." Shadow cursed. "What about Silver?"

"On a date with Blaze." Kumori responded.

"Jet? Blue? Sonic?" Shadow asked desperately.

"Date with Wave, talking with Tikal, Date with Amy." Kumori said in order.

"What about...What the hell?!" Shadow exclaimed. "How did Amy pull that off?"

"She's a girl with a big hammer. You do the math." Kumori smiled. Kumori moved in closer and wrapped her arms around Shadow's. "Look's like you're al out of excuses."

Shadow groaned at his predicament. Practically everyone was out doing something, some of them against their will, and Shadow was caught. But lucky, a savior entered into the room. Tails walked into the living room while trying to wipe off the grease on his face. Cream and Cheese also followed the twin-tailed kit.

"Are you ok, Tails?" Cream asked softly.

"Yeah. I just need to reroute the Tornado III's power unit to the converter." Tails said and Cream did not understand.

"Perfect timing." Shadow whispered. Shadow shot away from Kumori and rested his arm on Tails' shoulder. "Sorry, but I can't go. I'm busy with Tails here."

"Perfect! Then we can all go on a double date!" Kumori cheered.

"Say what?!" The male questioned.

"Yeah. Me and Shadow could go on our date and Tails and Cream could join us." Kumori smirked. The boys tried to object, but Kumori beat them to the punch. "Great! We'll meet at Twinkle Park in 20 minutes!"

Kumori walked past the boy and smiled proudly at herself. Shadow and Tails remained in the same spot, mouths in gape, trying to contemplate the situation. Trust me, it's that confusing.

"What just happened?" Tails asked.

"I have no clue." Shadow said.

Tails and Shadow hung their heads and dragged their feet away. Meanwhile, Cream looked down, closed her eyes, and held her hands to her heart. Her heart was beating over a hundred miles per hour at the thought of the upcoming date.

"_A date...with Tails." _Cream thought. _"This...could be my chance. Today, I will tell Tails my feelings."

* * *

_

Meanwhile, in the Dark Ruler's realm, Nazo was seated at his throne with an irritated expression. Lately, Nazo has been trying to break down the dimensional barrier to reach Blaze's realm and the Sol Emeralds. Now Nazo was powerful, but not powerful enough. Just then, Erazor appeared to his master holding a bottle of pink liquid.

"What is it Erazor?" Nazo sighed.

"Nazo, I have discovered a way to finally defeat those meddlesome heroes." Erazor said.

"_This should be good." _Nazo thought sarcastically.

"You know that Shadow is the leader of the team, right?" Erazor said. Nazo nodded. "Without Shadow lead them, the team would fall to shambles. If we could create a distraction for Shadow, we will be victorious!"

"And how do you plan to do that?" Nazo asked.

"With this." Erazor answered as he held up to bottle. "It's a love potion I created. Once Shadow drinks this, he'll fall in love with the first female he sees. With him out of commission..."

"The heroes will crumble." Nazo realized. "Erazor, that's brilliant. But just in case it fails." Nazo summoned forth two canisters containing a ram's skull. "BLACK CHAOS!"

The ram's skull was enveloped in a dark flame and began to take life. When the flame disappeared, the skull was replaced by a ram beast wearing skeleton armor and had three razor talons connected to his wrists.

"It's good to be alive!" The ram yelled. "I'm Crio and I'm ready to serve!"

"Proceed to Twinkle Park in Station Square." Nazo ordered. "I can feel Shadow's presence there."

"What is he doing there?" Erazor asked.

* * *

"What am I doing here?" Shadow asked himself.

Shadow, Tails, Kumori, and Cream were walking through the vast amusement park to begin their date, much to Shadow's displeasure. Tails surprisingly enjoyed the day with Cream, but Kumori was dragging Shadow everywhere. Now he knows how Sonic feels. They went on the roller coasters and played at the booths while Shadow was brooding in a corner somewhere.

"Shadow, stop acting like a baby." Kumori said. "See, Tails is enjoying it."

"He's a kid; he's supposed to enjoy it." Shadow replied. "I could be preparing myself for one of Nazo's attacks, but instead I'm stuck with two children and insane woman."

"What was that?!" Kumori growled.

"Nothing." Shadow said quickly.

But it was too late. Kumori reeled back her fist and punched Shadow's lights out. Meanwhile, Tails was testing his luck at the ring toss. Unknown to him, Cream was watching Tails from a distance. She watched with admiration of Tails carefree nature and his glow of innocence. Her heart was about ready to jump out of her chest. This was the perfect opportunity to tell him.

"_I need to tell him." _Cream thought. Cream moved away from her hiding spot and walked up to Tails. As she came closer, she was starting to have second thoughts. But she made it this far, she should go for it. "Uh...Tails."

Tails turned to face the young rabbit. But as Cream's luck would have it, one of Tails' namesakes swiped across the rabbit's feet and tripped her. Cream fell...Straight into Tails arms.

"You ok, Cream?" Tails asked.

Cream's face turned a deep shade of red. Here she was, in the arms of her crush, and was making a complete fool of herself. Cream looked up and saw how close their faces were to each other. Cream squeaked and jumped out of Tails arms. Cream covered her red face with long ears and ran off in a random direction, leaving a confused kit.

"Was it something I said?" Tails questioned.

On the other side the park, Crio was disguised as a lemonade vendor and poured Erazor's love potion into one of the cups. Just then, Shadow walked up to the stand, holding his left eye in his hand.

"Crazy woman." Shadow muttered. "Why did Gerald have to create her in the first place?"

"You sound troubled." Crio said. Crio handed Shadow the cup with the love potion. "Here. It's on the house."

"Thanks." Shadow said.

Shadow took the cup without realizing the danger. Crio was chuckling sinisterly as Shadow tipped his head to consume the drink. The potion was almost to his lips, but fate had other plans. Cream, blinded by her ears, accidentally ran into Shadow and caused him to spill the potion. Crio gasped in horror as Erazor's potion splashed everywhere. But one particular drop flew into the air and landed into Cream's mouth. Shadow brushed the potion off his chest fur just as Tails and Kumori walked up.

"Cream, are you ok?" Tails asked why helping her up.

"Yeah. I'm just..." Cream trailed off when she stared into Tail bright blue eyes. Cream's earlier shyness had disappeared and was replaced a feeling of yearning. Cream gave Tails a look similar to one Rouge gives Knuckles. "...fine."

"Ugh. Just great. It will take forever to get this out of my fur." Shadow complained.

"You can complain later." Kumori said as she grabbed Shadow's wrist. "Right now, we have a date to finish. How about The Tunnel of Love next?"

Kumori pulled the black hedgehog by his arm and dragged him away from the other couple. Shadow looked back desperately and gave a look that said 'help me'. Tails giggled at Shadow's expression.

"I wouldn't want to be Shadow right now." Tails laughed.

"You know, The Tunnel of Love sounds like a perfect place to visit." Cream whispered into the kits ears.

"Huh?" Tails nervously.

"Just imagine it: you and me together in a dark tunnel." Cream said with a sigh.

"_What's going on with Cream?"_ Tails thought. _"She's starting to act like Amy."_

"Let's not wait around! Let's go!" Cream cheered.

Cream grabbed Tails by the arm and started to drag him away. Tails was panicking and screaming like Sonic would in this situation. All the while, Crio was staring with wide eyes at the events that played out. Just then, Erazor Djinn appeared next to him. Crio's eyes rolled over to Erazor and gave a nervous smile. Erazor grabbed Crio by the neck and slammed him to the wall.

"Uh...nice day, huh?" Crio tried to change the subject.

"You think I didn't see that, you idiot!" Erazor yelled. "How could you bumble something as easy as giving out drinks?!"

"But it wasn't my fault!" Crio screamed desperately. "That little rabbit ran it the black hedgehog and accidentally drank the potion instead!"

"Then Lord Nazo expects you to fix it." Erazor growled while he threw Crio to the ground. "You can make up for your mistake by killing that rabbit. And you happen to fail..." Erazor whipped out his blade and held it to Crio's neck. "...I'll take pleasure in killing you. Nazo will never notice."

"Uh...Right. Gotta go!" Crio said quickly and zipped away.

"Why does Nazo make his monsters idiots?" Erazor asked himself.

"Tails, stopping being a baby. It's perfectly fine." Cream said.

"No way!" Tails exclaimed. "There's no way I'm letting go.

After hearing Creams plan to ride Tunnel of Love, Tails panicked and used his namesakes to cling to a lamp post. Cream was tugging Tails by his ears to try and pry him off. People were staring at them crazily. But they were pretty much used to see such sights because of Sonic and Amy. No matter how hard Cream tried, Tails wouldn't let go. Finally, something slice the post off and Tails was thrown over Cream's head and into a wall.

"Why me?" Tails whined into the wall.

"Tails, are you ok?" Cream asked in concern.

"I could ask you the same thing." Cream turned around to face Crio. "Be afraid. Be very afraid."

"Of a lemonade vendor?" Cream asked. Crio looked down to see that he was wearing his disguise. Crio grabbed his disguise and tore it to shreds to reveal his true self. "A monster!"

"Now time to punish you." Crio cackled.

Cream stepped back as Crio advanced towards her. Cream stopped when she was forced back into a wall. Crio sickly licked the talons on his wrist before raising them above his head. Crio was ready to swing until he felt himself suddenly stop. Crio looked down to his feet and saw two purple rings.

"Come on!" Tail exclaimed. Tails grabbed Cream's wrist and ran for it. "Why is he after you?"

"I don't know!" Cream yelled.

"Oh, I really wish Shadow was here!" Tails cried.

Crio struggled to move, but was failing. Then he remembered the rings touched his armor. Crio used his horns to detach his skeleton armor and reveal his decaying, rotting corpse. **(Ew, nasty!) **Crio turned his head to the retreating children. In a flash of blinding speed, Crio reappeared behind Tails and jabbed his knee into the back of kits head. Cream gasped while Crio ran ahead of the flying fox. Crio appeared in front of Tail and slammed his elbow into his chest to plow him into the ground. Crio once again licked one of his talons before pointing it at the kits neck.

"Now it's time to die." Crio said in a low voice. He attempted to stab Tails until he felt a foot connecting to his face. Crio was thrown back and looked mad. "All right, who did that?" Crio stood up to see only Cream, who was shaking and holding her head down. "You! You're going to pay for that, you rat!" Cream looked up and stared at Crio with flames of rage in her eyes. Crio was scared. "I meant brat in the nicest possible."

"You hurt my Tails!" Cream yelled in a higher pitch than usual. "You'll pay for that!"

Crio stepped back in fear. Cream suddenly jumped forward and kicked Crio hard in the face. Crio tumbled back a few feet and landed on his face. Before he could get up, Cream stomped on his head and plowed him into the ground. Crio pulled himself out of the ground, only to be continually slapped in the face by Cream's long ears. Crio stumbled back and feared for his life.

"_This girl is crazy!" _Crio thought. _"I have to get out of here quickly!"_

"Cheese!!!" Cream suddenly yelled.

Cream's yells reached all the way back to the base and into the room the she and Blaze shared. At the end of Cream's bed, Cheese was sleeping in his little bed until he heard Cream's voice. The plain chao shot up and zoomed right out of the room. Moments later, Cheese had amazingly found himself with Cream again. Cheese hugged Cream for a moment before it noticed Crio's presence. Realizing why it was called Cheese allowed himself to be rolled into a ball and Cream reeled him back like a baseball.

"Uh, you know I think I left the oven on!" Crio screamed and started to run.

But it was all too late for the nasty goat. Cream threw Cheese forward and launched him at impressive speeds. The ram was making his getaway until Cheese rammed him in the back. But the force of Cream's thrown forced Cheese directly through the monster. Crio screamed in pain for a moment before turning to dust with only its skull remaining. Cheese returned to his owner and gave her a victory hug.

"We did it, Cheese!" Cream cheered.

"Chao!"

"Wow, Cream, you were amazing." Tails said in awe.

"Thank you." Cream giggled and blushed.

Just when they thought it was over, Erazor Djinn appeared in a puff of black smoke.

"Oh no!" Tails exclaimed and jumped in front of Cream.

"Stupid beast. I knew that it was of no use." Erazor said. Erazor held his hand out to the remains of the monster and incinerated it a blaze of fire. "I knew I should have destroyed him after he failed to successfully administer the love potion."

"Love potion?" Tails asked. "What are you talking about?"

"The love potion that the girl drank." Erazor pointed to Cream.

"Wait. So that's why she's acting like this?" Tails asked.

"No. It doesn't affect her." Erazor said.

"Huh?" Tails questioned.

"The potion does not affect those who are already in love." Erazor explained.

"What does that mean?" Tails asked. But before he could he could get his answer, Erazor disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Wait! You didn't answer my question!"

"I think I can answer it, Tails." Cream said.

"What do you mean?" Tails asked as he turned to Cream.

"He said it doesn't affect me is because it doesn't work on those already in love, right?" Cream asked. Tails nodded. "There's something I have been meaning to tell you for a long time."

"What is it, Cream?" Tails asked.

"I...I lo..." Cream stuttered. "I lo...I lov..." Cheese was getting tired of this and hit Cream in the back of the head. "I love you, Tails!"

The truth was finally out. Cream had finally admitted her feelings towards Tails. Tails stared at Cream with his mouth hanging wide open. Cream felt good knowing she had finally expressed her emotions. Just then, Shadow and Kumori came back from wherever they were. Shadow looked funny because he had kissing marks all over his face.

"What happened to you?" Cream asked Shadow.

"Don't ask." Shadow said with a red face. "I've suffered enough as it is."

"Did anything happen while we were gone?" Kumori asked.

"Yes. after a long time I finally told Tails how I feel." Cream sighed. "I love Tails and I'm sure he loves me. Right, Tails?" No response. "Tails?" Cream and the hedgehogs looked back to the spot Tails stood, only to find him missing. They looked up to see that Tails was twirling his namesakes to try and escape. Cream' face was red and her ears were fuming. Cream finally yelled. "Miles Prower, you get back here, right now!"

Cream flapped her ears and took off after the twin tailed kit. Tails looked back for a moment and saw an enraged Cream chasing behind him. Tails panicked and twirled his namesakes faster. It would appear that Tails and Cream had become the new Sonic and Amy. Things are going to be hectic around. As if they weren't before.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the waters of Soleanna. And the waters bottom, a pile of rocks was crushed over a strange figure. The figure finally started to move and broke free from the rocks. As the light shone from above, it was revealed that the figure was the Mecha Shadow that came from the future. Everyone thought he was destroyed, but his core had survived and he rebuilt himself.

"Original mission: Failure!" The dragon machine stated. "Accessing secondary mission. Secondary mission: retrieve Sol Emeralds!"

Mecha opened his chest and revealed a strange generator inside. The generator started spinning around and electricity started to empower it. the generator then released white energy that took the form of a portal. Mecha jumped through the portal and looked back as it closed behind him.

* * *

**Who ever said love conquers all, doesn't know these guys. WHat does the revived Mecha have planned for the Sol Emerald? And will Tails return Cream's feelings? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes.**


	23. Life Before

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Chapter Twenty-Three: Life Before

The scene opens to the home of the famous mercenaries, Team Virtex. We see Raine making more medical wonders inside her room. But while she was distracted, the white butterfly accidentally mixed to ingredients and created a miniature explosion. Raine was blown out of her room and into the hall, covered in soot.

"Guess that wasn't right." Raine laughed while dusting herself off. "Recter and Howl have something big planned, I just know it! Maybe I could take one little peek."

Raine flapped her little wings and stealthily flew down the hall. Recter had told Raine to wait in her room, but he should know kids don't listen. Down the hall she saw a door open and distinctly heard Recter and Howl arguing over something. Worried, Raine moved in closer and peeked through the crack.

"I'm telling you, no!" Recter yelled. "I don't want that brat here!"

"Be reasonable." Howl said calmly. "It is a special day."

"I don't care! I don't want that little runt in our home!" Recter exclaimed.

"_Who are they talking about?"_ Raine wondered.

"Look, the little tyke is annoying, but..." Howl was cut off.

"Annoying is an understatement." Recter retorted. "That insect has got to be the biggest pest in the world."

"_They're talking about me. But why?" _Raine thought sadly. _"Well, if they don't want me, then fine!"_

Raine opened the window and flew far away from home. But back inside the home, Raine didn't realize was that what she heard was a big misunderstanding. Apparently, Recter and Howl were not alone. Sonic and Amy had come to join the two and were helping set up decorations as requested.

"Come on, big brother. Charmy's not that bad." Amy said.

"I don't know, Amy. The kid could be trouble." Sonic chuckled. Amy slapped him over the head. "What did I do?"

"That's not the problem." Howl stated. "The problem is that Recter is being overprotective again."

"I am not!" Recter retorted. "I am just concerned."

"Come, bro, what's the worse that can happen?" Sonic asked as he slung his arm over the hedgehogs shoulder. Recter growled, forcing Sonic to pull away. "I'll...just go get the others."

"Fine. And...Bring Charmy with you." Recter groaned.

"Gotcha!" Sonic said before he ran off.

"Everything is set up. Get Raine and tell her its ready." Howl said to Recter.

"Yeah, yeah." Recter shrugged. Recter walked out into the hallway towards Raine's room. As he came closer to Raine's room, he noticed the layer of smoke emerging from inside. "Raine, did you blow up you room again?" As the hedgehog stepped into the room, he noticed that Raine was nowhere to be seen. "Howl's not going to like this."

* * *

Raine was aimlessly wandering the streets of Station Square. Raine felt insecure without having Recter and Howl around to comfort her. Just then, a loud rolling thunder erupted from the dark clouds. Raine looked up just as the rain began pouring down on her. 

"Great. This is just great." Raine said sarcastically.

Raine quickly to shelter under on of the outdoor fruit stand tents. Just then, a faint rumble reached her antenna. Raine was hungry and she hadn't eaten in hours. Raine's eyes wandered to a juicy delicious apple that stood on the stand next to her. Raine's mouth water and she slowly reached out for it. She knew this was wrong, but she was hungry. She grabbed it and tried to eat until.

"Hey! You have to pay for that!" the merchant yelled. Raine tried to make a getaway, but the merchant grabbed her by her antenna. "Think you can steal from my shop! You'll pay for that!"

But while the merchant was yelling, Raine reached into her jacket to pull out a vial of black liquid and splashed it into the merchant's eyes. The merchant screamed in pain and accidentally released Raine. The white butterfly took this opportunity to escape, but not before grabbing an arm full of apples.

"Wow! I haven't done that in a long time." Raine smiled. She grabs one of the apples and takes a huge bite out of it. "Good thing I have experience or I never could have done that."

Raine aimlessly flew across to the other side of the town and reached an abandoned area. While she wandered in, she failed to see the police tape strewn across the lamp posts. Raine, not paying attention, accidentally bumped her head into a building wall. Raine said rubbing her head. Raine looked up to find an old pharmacy that brought back a lot of painful memories.

"Mommy, Daddy." Rain sobbed.

* * *

_---Flashback---_

A one year-old Raine was crawling on the floor and started tugging at her mother's coat. Her mother was a beautiful pink butterfly, while her father was a black butterfly. Both of them wore labs coats, making them easily distinguished as scientists. The pink butterfly looked down and smiled at her baby. The mother lifted Raine and held her to the air.

"How is my little girl doing?" The mother nuzzled Raine's nose. Raine giggled happily. "Do you want to help mommy?"

"Don't get too close." The father said. "Some of these experiments are unstable."

"Why do you perform experiments when you're a pharmacist?" the mother asked.

"Just trying to keep things interesting." The father smirked.

The mother set Raine back on the floor and went back downstairs to work at the store. Later that day, Raine's father had finished working on a medicine that he believes would remove paralysis. He looked down to see Raine smiling up to him

"Hey, honey. How are you?" The father playfully asked. Just then, Raine's mother walked back upstairs. "How were things today?"

"Uh...things were fine." The mother responded nervously. "Honey...we have a visitor."

"Really? Who?" The father asked.

Raine's mother nervously shot a glance back before moving to allow their guests' in. the first was a ten year-old human boy with shoulder length blue hair. He wore simple black slacks, white shirt, and a black vest. Behind him was a green viper wearing a purple, sleeveless gi, white belt, and purple sandals. The viper looked sick as half of his body was grey.

"It's so niccce to meet you." The snake hissed. "My name is Naga. And thisss is my companion, Kai."

"I've heard of you." Raine's father growled. "You're that insane scientist who experimented on Queen Aleena's son."

"I prefer the term, evil geniusss." Naga sniggered.

"What do you want?" Raine's father asked while stealthily hiding Raine under the desk.

"I hear you have developed a way to rid the effects of paralysisss." Naga said seriously. "As you may have noticcced, my entire left half has been completely paralyzed. I want that medicine and I want it now!"

Raine's father glanced at the red vial stand on his desk. Kai saw this and also stared at the red vial. Both people make a quick jump for the vial and it looked like Raine's father would win. But suddenly, the vial disappeared from sight. Raine's father looked back to see Kai standing next to Naga with the red vial in hand.

"But how?" Raine's father asked.

"My experimentsss didn't end with Aleena'sss son." Naga stated. "Now, Kai. The vial, please."

Kai removed cork from the vial and placed the bottle in Naga's mouth. Naga greedily drank the liquid right down to the last drop. Suddenly, Naga started screaming in pain. Naga's skin started to crawl backwards until he shed it completely. Naga now stood tall and the grey skin had completely disappeared.

"Now thisss is niccce." Naga grinned. "Now that I am healed, you are no longer needed."

Before anyone could realize it, Naga extended his neck across the room. Naga opened his jaw wide and stabbed Raine's father with his fang. Raine's mother gasped in shock. That was the last sound she ever made. Kai came up behind her and cut her throat with a knife he had in his pocket.

"That was entertaining." Naga laughed. "Now, let'sss make sure there is no witnessesss."

Naga turned and walked down the stairs followed by Kai. When the coast was clear, Raine crawled out of her hiding spot and toward her dead parents. Raine nudge them, thinking they were sleeping. But being a child prodigy, Raine easily understood what happened. Raine just spent the rest of the night there, crying.

_---End Flashback---

* * *

_

Raine found herself in the same room where her parents were murdered before her eyes. Police investigated for months, but they never found Naga or his assistant. Raine's eyes wandered the room and came to a stop on an empty vial on the floor. It was the vial Naga drank to restore himself. Raine picked up the bottle and held it close to her heart, being her father's last creation.

"I thought you would be here." Raine looked to the door to see Recter leaning against the edge. "You miss them, don't you?"

"Go away!" Raine exclaimed. "I don't want to talk to you!"

"What's with you?" Recter asked as he moved closer. "This isn't like you."

"Why would you care? I am just a pest, right?" Raine sobbed.

"Oh, so you heard that." Recter sympathized. Recter picked up Raine and held her close. "Raine, I wasn't talking about you. I was talking about Charmy."

"Charmy?" Raine questioned.

"Of course. You know how annoying he can be." Recter chuckled.

"But...well, you got a point there." Raine laughed.

"Come on. Let's go home." Recter said. Recter carried Raine in his arms and walked out of the building, but not before allowing Raine one last glance of her former home. During their walk home, Recter asked. "Raine, why would you think I was talking about you?"

"You were talking about an annoying insect." Raine said.

"And that makes you think I'm talking about you." Recter laughed. "Raine, I would never say anything like that. Don't you remember when we first met?"

* * *

_---Flashback---_

The scene changes to a week after the Metal Overlord incident. The local street merchants were preparing their products. But as one merchant looked away, a figure flew by and swiped a pile of fruit. The thief was Raine, only she was wearing ragged clothing. It looked like she would get away with it until.

"Not so fast, you." The merchant came from nowhere and grabbed Raine by her antenna. "If you want some fruit, you have to pay for it."

"But I don't have money." Raine said.

"Then I'll be taking that." The merchant said as he reached for the fruit.

Raine tugged her stolen fruit out of his reach while reaching into her tattered cloths. Before he could realize it, Raine swung around and threw a black liquid into the merchants face. The merchant screamed in pain, which gave Raine a chance to fly away. Raine zipped down to street with a mischievous smirk. All seemed well until the young girl bumped into someone and fell to the ground. Raine rubbed her head and looked up to see Recter and Howl.

"We don't do well with thieves." Recter said. "Even little ones."

Recter attempted to reach for Raine, but the young butterfly pulled back. Raine quickly reached into her cloths and pulled out a vial of purple powder. Raine threw the powder to the ground and created a smoke screen for which Raine escaped in.

"What was that?" Howl said in a coughing fit.

"I don't know." Recter replied coughing. When the smoke cleared, they found that Raine was nowhere to be seen. "Howl, where is she?"

Howl lifted his nose into the air to track her scent. With over a hundred scents on the street, it was difficult to trace just one. Finally, he could smell Raine not too far from their position.

"This way!" Howl exclaimed.

Recter followed Howl as he quickly raced down the street. Meanwhile, Raine was flying through an alleyway with the stolen fruit. Raine laughed as she successfully made her escape. Or so she thought. Just as she was about to take a bite out of her stolen apple, a sword flew out of nowhere and stuck the apple to the wall. The butterfly looked over to see Howl staring down at her.

"That wasn't very nice." Howl said. Raine reached into her clothes for another vial, but was stopped when Recter grabbed her wrist. "So what shall we do with...?"

Howl suddenly stopped and dropped his sword to the ground. Howl dropped to his knees while clutching his heart. Recter quickly saw this and ran to his friend's side, completely forgetting Raine. Raine could have escaped, but she was too worried about Howl's condition.

"Howl? What's wrong?" Recter panicked.

"I...don't...know." Howl's breathing became heavy. "It...my heart."

"What do we do? What do we do?" Recter was completely freaking out.

"Oh, move over!" Raine shouted forcefully as she pushed Recter aside. Raine set Howl on the ground and started listening to Howl's heart. "It sound's like that he's suffering from a heartworm. Most common in canines."

"How do you know this?" Recter asked.

"My parents were doctors." Raine stated. Raine reached into her clothing and pulled a vial of pink liquid. "Drink this. It will help."

Howl looked doubtful for a moment. Howl looked to his friend as if asking whether to trust her or not. Recter, figuring they had nothing to lose, nodded yes. Howl willingly drank the liquid that Raine gave him. Howl felt something moving inside his chest and crawled up to his throat. Howl flipped over and spit out the heartworm.

"Ok, that was gross." Recter said disgusted.

"I...I owe you my life." Howl said to Raine.

"It was nothing. I was just happy to help." Raine smiled.

"Man, you're parents must be proud." Recter said. Raine remained silent and held her head down. "Oh, sorry. I didn't know."

"It's ok. I'm sure they would be." Raine said with a genuine smile.

"If it makes you feel better, my parents were killed too." Recter said.

"Really?" Raine asked.

"Yeah. Some filthy serpent named Naga killed them." Recter said, catching Raine by surprise. "My sister and I were just lucky enough to escape."

"Naga killed my parents too." Raine said sadly.

Recter and Howl looked sadly at the poor child. Her parents were dead and she was forced to steal food. Recter wouldn't allow such a thing to continue.

"Do you have a place to stay?" Recter asked. Raine shook her head no. "You won't be able to say that anymore." Raine looked confused. "I want you to come stay with us. We could use someone like you on the team. What's your name?"

"Raine."

"Raine, welcome to Team Virtex." Recter said. "I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

_---End Flashback---_

* * *

Recter was carrying Raine back to their home and stopped at the front door. Recter opened the door and walked inside. Once inside, Raine jumped out of his arm and floated in midair. 

"I've kept my promise so far, but you are making it difficult." Recter said.

"I'm sorry." Raine apologized.

"Normally, I would be mad." Recter grinned. "But let's wait after the party."

"Party?" Raine asked.

Recter walked down the hall with Raine following behind. The two reached the door to Recter's office and flung it wide open. Inside, Howl and the entire Sonic Heroes team were waiting in a fabulously decorated room. The heroes quickly caught sight of the two and suddenly shouted.

"Surprise! Happy Birthday, Raine!

"You...you guys remembered." Raine said with tears of joy.

"These are for you." Charmy said as he held a bundle of roses to Raine.

"Hey! That's mine!" Sonic shouted.

"What was that?" Recter glared at the blue hedgehog.

"Uh...I mean...they are mine that I gave to Charmy to give to Raine." Sonic said nervously.

In reality, Sonic ran halfway around the world and handpicked those roses from a secret spot only he knows. He was planning to give them to Amy. But with her brother present, he didn't say a thing. Sonic growled at the annoying bee, who only replied by sticking his tongue out. Raine took the rose and kissed Charmy on the cheek, whom proceeds to faint on the floor. Raine giggled for a moment before turning back to Recter.

"Thank you...big brother." Raine said.

"Anytime, sis." Recter smiled.

"What are we waiting for? Let's get this party started!" Vector shouted.

The party was a real hit with everyone. They had a piñata shaped like Eggman and Silver beat the hell out of it. Even after it was already down. Tails gave Raine an invention of his to better organize her medicines. Raine hugged him and Storm had to hold Cream back from killing her. Man, she really is like Amy. Later, they enjoyed a delicious chocolate cake that Amy made. Most of which ended up on Espio's face. But as everyone enjoyed the party, Recter leaned against the wall and continually stared at Sonic. Howl walked over to the wall to confront him.

"So where did you find Raine?" Howl asked.

"The same place where Naga killed her parents." Recter said seriously.

"Tell me, is Naga the reason why you don't trust Sonic?" Howl asked.

"Everyone knows Naga experimented on the son of Queen Aleena, which both know is Sonic." Recter informed. "He is the byproduct of Naga's experimentations."

"But we don't even know what the experiment was." Howl interjected.

"But I intend to find out." Recter said sternly. "Until then, let's keep an eye on our little blue friend."

Howl did not understand how could be so untrusting to the world's greatest hero, but he didn't ask why. Both Recter and Raine had bad experiences with the mysterious snake. And now the answer to Naga was within Sonic himself, even if he didn't realize it.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Egg-Carrier III. All the villains aboard the ship were gathered around their latest project. After weeks of waiting, it had seemed that the day had finally arrived. The reconstruction of Metal Sonic's soldiers was at last finished. 

"So the day arrives." Eggman sniggered.

"Shall we wake them up?" Violet asked playfully.

"Yes. Lets." Metal chuckled.

Metal placed his hands against the vats of ooze and released and electrical surge within them. The mechs finally woke up and burst from their containers. The first one was a red mech with five tendrils draping down its head, a crest moon shape on its chest, two large claws on each hand, and red and yellow feet that looked like shoes.

**Mech Name: Metal Knuckles**

The second container opened to reveal a green mech with five contoured spikes on the back of its head, three spikes to act as tail feathers, red and black feet that looked like boots, and a pair of metal claws

**Mech Name: Metal Jet**

The third container opened to reveal a purple mech with a yellow horn, a whip-like tail, violet and black feet that looked like shoes, and a pair of metal claws on its hands.

**Mech name: Metal Espio**

"Amazing aren't they?" Metal said.

"Uh...Metal." Mecha called Metal's attention.

Mecha pointed to the last container, which was still unopened. Inside was a pink mech with three curved spikes on its forehead, five tendrils hanging from its head, a pair of metal claws, wore a metal dress shaped like Amy's, and red feet shaped like boots.

**Mech Name: Metal Amy**

"What's wrong with her?" Mecha asked.

"I don't know." Metal answered. Amy's mechanical looked back and forth around the base until its glowing eyes locked on Metal Sonic. Metal Amy's eyes changed into hearts, which Metal noticed. "Uh oh."

Metal Amy burst from her container and knocked Metal Sonic to the floor. Metal tried to get up, but noticed Metal Amy was still holding on to him.

"Let go!" Metal commanded.

"Not a chance! Now you're mine!" Metal Amy said mischievously.

"Uh...Someone help me!" Metal screamed.

"Sorry, Metal. Your project, your problem." Eggman laughed.

Soon, all the villains were laughing at Metal's predicament. But as Metal tried to break free from his insane creation, the failed to notice a figure standing at the computer and slip away into the darkness. The only thing revealed of its identity was a pair of red eyes and a low hiss.

* * *

**New secrets begin to unravel. Who is Naga? How is he involved with Sonic? And what does Metal have planned for his squadron? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes.**


	24. The Hunt of the Machines

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Hunt of the Machines

The scene opens up to the middle of the Indian Ocean. High above the ocean floated the massive base known as the Egg-Carrier III. At the control room, Eggman was sleeping in his chair with legs propped on the controls. To add humor to the sight, Bokkun was sleeping with his teddy bear on Eggman's large nose. But the two were waken from their sleep when they heard a loud racket coming from outside their door.

"Get away from me!" Metal screamed.

"But Metal, we are destined for each other!" Metal Amy replied.

"Get off!" Metal yelled.

"Aw, it's them again. "Bokkun whined. "Don't they know it's rude to wake people?"

Bokkun jumped to his feet and stomped on the floor. The floor being Eggman's nose. Eggman raised his hand and flicked the little pest to the wall. Metal suddenly barged in with Metal Amy grasping his arm. Metal grasped Metal Amy's head and threw her out before slamming the door shut.

"I've created a monster." Metal stated. He noticed Eggman's smirk. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Every minute." Eggman chuckled. The computer started beeping. "Ooh, looks like the tracker has picked up another emerald."

"Tracker?" Metal questioned.

"I stole the designs from Tails tracker and added it to the Egg-Carrier." Eggman explained. "It's not portable like Tails, but it has a longer range." Eggman was performing several procedures before another screen came up. On the screen it showed a motionless green blip and moving red blip. "There's two of them, but it appears one of them is moving."

"That doesn't surprise me." Metal said. Eggman looked at him with a confused look. "Yesterday, while I was listening on the heroes, I heard Sonic tell Omega that he found a chaos emerald."

"But how did Sonic know that?" Eggman asked.

"I don't know, but that's really not the problem." Metal said. "The main priority is retrieving that emerald."

"I'll have Violet prepare you a squadron of black clones." Eggman said.

"Make sure their prepared." Metal said. suddenly a loud banging sound could be heard from the door. The pair turned to the door as it was broke off its hinges. There stood Metal Amy with a metallic version of Amy's hammer. "And hurry!"

"Metal! Get back here right now!" Metal Amy yelled as she chased him out of the room.

"That never gets old!" Eggman laughed wildly.

* * *

Somewhere in the northern jungle, Omega was trudging through the thick layers of plant life. Omega refrained from using conventional weapons so as not to burn the whole jungle area down. Omega resorted to using his claws only. As Omega cut down a clear path, he looked to his right arm and opened a hidden panel to reveal a miniature computer.

"Target 2.3 kilometers north!" Omega stated. "Continuing primary route."

Omega waved his claws to remove a large bush in his way. Meanwhile, not far from Omega's position, Metal and a squad of six black chaos clones were jumping across the branches towards their target.

"Our target is over twenty yards ahead. Once target is in sight, begin formation Alpha-Z!" Metal ordered.

"What?" The clones questioned.

"You didn't read the pamphlet, did you?" Metal asked. The black clones shook their heads no. "(Sigh) Once you see the target, just surround him." The black clones shook their heads in understanding. "I doubt even Blue or Violet are this idiotic."

Still depressed at his stupid team, Metal flew past the tree tops with the clones following. But unknown to them, a sinister figure was lurking in the shadows, chuckling wickedly.

"So that's Metal Sonic, eh?" The figure questioned in an Australian accent. "The rusty blighter doesn't look that tough."

"Don't be fooled so easily." The shadowed figure looked over to see Nazo floating behind him. Nazo powerful aura showed a bit of the creature, but not enough to identify it. "Metal was powerful enough to take something very important from me."

"Maybe it's because you weren't strong enough." The figure chuckled. Nazo gripped the unknown creature's neck and began to strangle him. "Uncle! Uncle!!!"

"Never insult someone who can destroy you without hesitation." Nazo advised as he released the creature. "I trust you know what you're supposed to do."

"Grab the rust bucket and bring him to you." the creature said.

"Don't fail or their will be a consequence." Nazo said.

The creature nodded as Nazo disappeared in a wave of darkness. The creature sniggered with glee as he reached behind his back. Back with Omega, the large robot stopped for a moment and opened a secret compartment in its chest. Omega reached it to pull out the red chaos emerald. Omega watched as the chaos emerald started glowing on and off repeatedly. Omega replaced the chaos emerald into his chest and closed it shut.

"Chaos emerald is within the vicinity!" Omega stated. "Beginning free search."

Omega resumed his search, but now without the help of the tracker or the emerald. Unknown to him, Metal and the black clones were not that far behind. with only a few yards separating them, Metal decided to put his plan into action.

"Ok. Began formation Alpha-Z!" Metal ordered

"???" The clones questioned.

"Just surround him, you idiots!" Metal yelled.

The clone nodded and jumped from their hiding spot. The six black clones dropped to the ground and blocked Omega off in everyway possible. Omega was tempted to use his weapons when he realized that it would destroy the entire jungle. One of the black clones charged forward and swiped its claws. Omega counted with his own claws. Since Omega was the stronger one, his claws went straight through the clone and reduced him to a puddle. Two more attacked from both sides, but Omega twirled his upped body around and shredded them to pieces. Unfortunately, Omega did not see the last three clones coming up from behind. The three clones kicked Omega in the back and forced him to the ground. Omega tried to stand up when he felt someone's foot pushing him down. Omega turned his head to find Metal Sonic.

"So this is the pride of the E-Series robots. How pathetic." Metal taunted.

"Metal Sonic! What is it that you want?" Omega questioned.

"First off, I'll start by taking that chaos emerald." Metal said. Metal flipped Omega over and stabbed his claw through the robots chest. Metal pulled back to hold a chaos emerald in his claw. "Perfect. Now all I need is the other emerald and my mission shall be complete." Metal turned to walk away, his cape swatting at Omega's face to taunt him. "I leave you to them. Black clones, eliminate him!"

The black clones chuckled sinisterly as the moved in closer for the kill. Metal would smirk if he had a mouth as he held the emerald between his claws. Suddenly, a loud bang suddenly filled the air. The black clones looked back to their leader as he suddenly dropped to his knees. Metal was holding his chest as oil began to seep from his armor like blood. The black clones left Omega, which gave him a chance to get back up, and gathered around the injured robot.

"What was that?" Metal questioned.

"That would be me."

The unknown warriors looked forward to stare into the face of Metals attacker. The creature was an orange dingo with three red scars over his left eye. He wore metal pads over his legs, shoulders, and chest, a grey mask over his muzzle, and two steel wrist bands with a small gun connected to his left.

"Who are you?" Metal questioned.

"I call myself Predingo" Predingo introduced.

"How original." Omega said sarcastically.

"Ok, so I didn't have time to come up with a good name! Sue me!" Predingo exclaimed. Just then, a stampede of lawyers walked up to him. "I didn't mean it literally!" The lawyer ran away scared. "Stupid lawyers. Hey, where did everyone go?"

As Predingo looked around, he saw that the enemies were no longer with him. Somewhere in the jungle, Two of the lack clones were carrying the injured Metal while the other led the way. Omega was flying behind them with his jetpack, but they didn't pay any attention to him.

"No normal weapons can pierce my armor." Metal stated. "Nazo must have created him specifically for capturing me."

"Thermal patterns show that the enemy is approaching at an above normal speed!" Omega stated.

"When do you think he will get here?" Metal asked.

Just then, an orange blur whizzed by them. Standing on one of the tall branches was Predingo, who jumped down to kick the leading clone in the face. The leading clone fell back to his brothers and knocked Metal to the ground. Lucky enough, Omega was there to catch him.

"Now." Omega answered.

"That was pretty sneaky of you to try an escape." Predingo chuckled. Predingo pointed his wrist gun towards Metal. "I'll just make this quick and painless. Ok, maybe more on the quick, but not as much on the painless."

As Predingo took aim at his target, the black clones suddenly jumped to Metal's defense. The trio of clones jumped forward and swiped their claws at him. Predingo fell backwards, but not before nailing a shot at one of the black clones chest, instantly destroying it. Predingo flipped to his feet and jumped back away as another black clone crushed its claw against the ground. Predingo took in precise aim and nailed the black clone in the head with his gun.

"Only one left to go." Predingo chuckled. Predingo looked around for the last clone, but it was nowhere to be found. "Great, he's gone too. Why does this keep happening to me?"

As Predingo scoured the area, Metal seemed to hold a devious look in his glowing eyes. Just then, the last black clone snuck up behind Predingo and raised is claw to him. Predingo finally noticed the black clone's presences and knew he wouldn't be able to shoot him. Acting fast, Predingo flicked his right arm and released two jagged blades from his right wristband. Predingo moved swiftly around and sliced the clone in half. With all of the clones dead, Predingo returned his sights back to Metal. Predingo fired multiple shots that would surely kill Metal. Thinking fast, Metal grasped his wrist and released a surge of electricity. The electricity formed a barrier around him that protected him from Predingo's shots.

"Crafty little devil, aren't ya?" Predingo said excitingly.

"_That was close. I have enough to perform at least one Metal Surge."_ Metal thought. _"But if I use it now, there's no guarantee that I will land a hit. It looks as if I'm done for."_

"Say bye-bye!" Predingo cackled.

Predingo aimed his gun again until a repeated sound suddenly sounded. Predingo looked to the ground to see bullet marks head straight for him. Predingo reacted by redrawing his wrist blade. Predingo's fast maneuvers allowed him not only to block every single bullet, but also cut the bullets in half. Predingo retracted his blade and glared at the only one who could have shot him: Omega.

"Omega!" Metal exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing? Why would you protect me?"

"Because you have something meaningful to me." Omega stated.

"So, you're only saving to protect your precious chaos emerald." Metal looked down in despair.

"No! That is not my reason!" Omega stated. Metal looked at him in confusion. "You and I are more alike then you think."

"What do you mean?" Metal asked. "What could I posses that would make us alike."

Omega retracted his guns and replaced them with his claws. Omega moved into an attack position and raised his claws towards Predingo. But before he attacked, Omega looked to Metal one last time and said.

"A heart."

Metal looked at him in shock. Omega returned his attention to Predingo and charged forward. Predingo fired multiple shots from his gun, but Omega's thick armor was too strong to feel them. Omega swiped his claws at the hunters head, but Predingo flipped into the air and landed on a tree. Omega, no longer concerned about the jungle, opened the sides of his arms to reveal his hidden missile packs. Predingo saw this and quickly jumped into the air. Big mistake. Omega launched two of his missiles and made Predingo the direct target. Predingo swiftly recalled his wrist blade and sliced the two missiles in half, causing them to explode behind him. The hunter jumped down and landed a direct blow at Omega's head, cause him to fall on his back. Omega tried to stand back up, but found Predingo's blade between his eyes.

"So this is where it ends." Predingo chuckled.

Meanwhile, Metal was still contemplating on Omega's words. It was true that Eggman Nega made him from Sonic's DNA, but he never suspected him of having a heart. And more so, Omega was 100 machine. How could he have a heart? Unless...

"Unless that heart is freewill." Metal muttered. "We are alike because only we can choose how to exist. No one else."

Metal looked up and saw Omega's position. Predingo raised his blade and swung it to the robots head. But then Metal came out of nowhere and kicked the mad dingo in the face. Predingo was thrown to the trunk of a tree while Metal helped Omega back to his feet.

"So you figured it out." Omega said.

"Only we can choose to live. And no one can tell us how." Metal said. Predingo jumped back to his feet with an angry expression "I choose to live fighting!"

Predingo yelled angrily and charged forward while his wrist blade. Omega retracted his claws, but did not replace them. Metal flipped the red emerald in his hand before grasping it tightly and placed his other claw on Omega. The chaos emerald's power started passing through Metal's body and transferred into Omega's arms. Predingo saw this and skidded to a halt.

"Aw, crikey." Predingo said disappointingly.

"CHAOS SHOT!!!" Metal and Omega yelled together.

Omega released a devastating red blast from his arms. The blast nailed Predingo and reduced him to dust along with everything it its path. When the smoke cleared, Predingo and everything within a three mile radius were completely gone. And as luck would have it, something was sticking out of the newly destroyed ground. Omega reached for it and pulled out what he had been looking for: the white chaos emerald.

"Target located." Omega stated. "Mission successful." Omega turned to Metal Sonic. "It's thanks to you. Because of you, I was able to overcome this difficulty."

Metal Turned from Omega with a downcast look. He stared down at the red emerald in his hand and knew what had to be done. Suddenly, Metal disappeared into thin air. Using his electrical scanner, Omega found out that Metal was standing behind him with his signature technique already prepared.

"Forgive me." Metal requested. "METAL SURGE!"

Metal plunged this electrified claw through Omega's chest. The sudden attack forced Omega to shut down instantly. Metal moved to the side and allowed Omega to fall backwards. There he was with the white emerald in his claw. This was the perfect opportunity to take it. Metal glanced at Omega once more before crouching to his side.

* * *

Back at the Egg-Carrier, Violet was listening to some music she stole from Vector during their last fight, Mecha was teaching the Metal Squadron their battle tactics, Bokkun was cuddling his teddy bear in the corner, and Eggman was impatiently waiting for Metal.

"Grr...what's taking him so long?!" Eggman exclaimed as he banged the controls.

"Patience is a virtue." Metal Espio said calmly. "To receive, one must be accepting."

"Deep, man, deep." Metal Jet said.

"I don't get it." Metal Knuckles said.

"_They're more like their other halves than Metal planned." _Mecha sweat dropped.

Just then, Metal Sonic appeared into the room using chaos control. Violet fell back at the sudden entrance.

"Warn a girl next time!" Violet yelled.

"I thought you were a guy." Metal Knuckles said, earning him a hit over the head.

"So how was your trip?" Eggman asked.

"The mission was somewhat successful." Metal said, holding the red emerald. "The red emerald was there, but the other one was a false alarm."

"Hmm. That is unfortunate." Eggman said as he took the emerald. "But one should be enough. Good work, Metal. Oh, and clean yourself up. You're getting oil on the floor.

"Don't worry, I'll help him." Metal Amy said as she grasped Metal's arm. "And I promise I won't leave your side ever."

"All of a sudden, dying sounds pretty good about right now." Metal muttered.

* * *

Back at the battle ground, Omega was lying on the ground where Metal left him with the white emerald in his claw. Omega clutched the emerald as he began to reactivate. But something was different about Omega. While one of his eyes was red, the other was blue. At with that, his entire personality changed too.

"Memory restoration in progress." Omega stated. "E-123 or SCR-HD? SCR-HD selected. Beginning systems reboot!"

all of a sudden, Omega's body was enveloped by waves of electricity all headed for his core. Omega's twitching body seemed to give him the impression of pain. The hole in Omega's chest started to come to life and sew itself together. The electric waves disappeared and Omega remained motionless. Omega then suddenly jumped up back to his feet. Omega was actually floating in midair, as if Gravity no longer applied to him. Omega landed back on the ground and began laughing evilly.

"I'm alive!" Omega cackled. "It would seem that I have been restored. I guess I owe Eggman after all." Omega looked down at the emerald that was still in his hands. "It may not be an Ark, but it's just as powerful. No longer will I be this feeble Omega. I return as ABIS: master of the universe. My sole purpose: destroy Jet the Hawk!

* * *

Meanwhile, word had spread of Predingo's defeat at the Dark Ruler's castle. Black Doom, Mephiles, and Erazor were gathered around Nazo's chessboard with concerned looks on their faces. Just then, Nazo entered the room, muttering unintelligently in anger.

"I knew I shouldn't have sent him!" Nazo muttered. "I mean his name was Predingo for Zeenint's sake." Nazo stopped his ranting when he noticed the looks of his servants. "What's wrong?"

"You might want to look at this." Erazor said.

Mephiles and Erazor moved out of the way to make room for Nazo. Upon seeing the chessboard, Nazo grinded his teeth in frustration. On Metal and Eggman's side was the newly made Metal Squadron. It appears that Nazo had not predicted this outcome.

"Your little bounty has gathered new friends." Mephiles said.

"With this new addition, both sides outnumber and overpower us." Black Doom contemplated. "What do you have planned now?"

"This was not part of the plan. There is no way Metal should have the technology to create such machines like him." Nazo growled.

"There was that time he travel with Silver though time." Mephiles explained. "Maybe he found what he needed."

"Then this changes everything." Nazo said while leaning against the board. "Then we have no choice. It's time to gather more followers."

* * *

**ABIS is back and out for revenge. Will Abis succeed in killing Jet? Will the heroes bring Omega back? And what new evil will join the Drak Rulers? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes.**


	25. A Demon's Heart

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Chapter Twenty-Five: A Demon's Heart

In the Sonic Heroes base, Tail was messing around in the workshop. Tails was standing under the hood of the tornado III, trying to improve on Tornado's aerodynamics. On the wall, Tails hung designs plans for a new plane called the X-Tornado. But because of the lack of funds from G.U.N., Tails had to put as much of the design into the Tornado III as possible. But while he was under the hood, he did not notice a shadow sneaking up behind him.

"Hi, Tails." Tails bumped his head and looked back towards Cream. "Whatcha doing?"

"I'm just modifying the turbo engine." Tails said scientifically. "I'm also rerouting the polarity of the..."

"Oh, my head hurts." Cream dizzily as she held her head. "Can we talk about something else?"

"Sure. Why did you come in here anyway?" Tails asked as he went back to work.

"Do you know what day it is?" Cream asked sly and sweet.

"No, what?" Tails asked.

Cream whispered something into his ear. Tails face faulted in fear. Back in the living room, Silver was lazy sitting on the couch with his feet on the table. Silver was surfing channels until he noticed a familiar white mouse scurrying across the table. Silver quickly lifted his legs as Blaze flew by. The white mouse quickly ran into his hole, causing Blaze to run into the wall. Blaze pried herself from the wall and heard the squeaky laughter of her arch-enemy: Gary the Mouse.

"I am getting sick of this rodent!" Blaze flared. Blaze activated her powers around her hands. "Time to fry this sucker!"

Blaze was ready to burn the hole when Silver quickly grabbed her.

"Whoa! Calm down!" Silver exclaimed. "Remember what happened last time!"

_

* * *

---Flashback---_

The G.U.N. fire department was dousing the recently burned down base. All the Heroes and Gary were covered in ash and all glaring at Blaze. Blaze decided to disappear until they forgot this incident. No one saw her for a month.

_---End Flashback---

* * *

_

"Right. Bad idea." Blaze said nervously.

Blaze extinguished her flames and Silver released her. Just then, Tails came flying in frantically with Cream giddily following behind. Silver grabbed Blaze and ducked down as the two children flew over. Up in the air vents, Gary threw down a rotten tomato meant for Blaze, but instead landed on Tails. The two-tailed flew out of control and crashed into the wall. This gave Cream the chance to catch him and wrap him in her own bone-breaking hug.

"Aww, why won't you spend the day with me?" Cream pouted.

"I have a lot of work today. I can't afford to fall behind." Tails tried to come up with his best excuse.

"But this day only comes once a year!" Cream cried.

"What's this all about?" Blaze asked as they stood up.

"Cream wants me to spend Valentines Day with her." Tails explained.

"Valentines Day? What's that?" Silver asked.

Since Silver and Blaze lived in a time period with Iblis, they never had a chance to experience the holidays.

"Valentines is a very special day." Cream explained. "It's a day where people express their love for one another."

"That would explain why Sonic's missing." Silver chuckled.

"But why celebrate your love one day when you could celebrate it everyday?" Blaze asked. The violet cat wrapped her arms around Silver and laid her head on his shoulder. "We do."

"They say it's on this day that people find new love." Cream said dreamily. "Isn't that right, Tails?" There was no reply. "He ran away again, didn't he?"

"Yep." The two answered.

Cream's eyes flared in rage and quickly shot out of the room. The next moment, a series of sounds and screams of pain filled the base. Today was going to be a strange one.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Dark Rulers castle. Nazo was sitting at his throne with the blue emerald floating in his hand. Nazo thought back to the locations of the chaos emeralds. The Sonic Heroes have two, Metal has two, ABIS has one, and Nazo has one. That was six in total, which meant there was one emerald left. Just then, Mephiles appeared before his master.

"Why have you called me, my Lord?" Mephiles questioned.

"We are at a disadvantage." Nazo explained. "Sonic and Metal both have two emeralds, while we only have one."

"What do you want me to do?" Mephiles asked.

"I have discovered the location of the last emerald." Nazo said. "I want you to go undercover and retrieve it."

"I have the perfect disguise." Mephiles said. the ooze of Mephiles body shifted to give him a new form. Mephiles now looked like Shadow, only his fur was purple, his highlights were grey, and he now had mouth. "This should do quiet well."

"Don't screw this up." Nazo warned.

* * *

In Station Square, crowds were rushing up and down the streets for the big Valentines celebration. Silver and Blaze were walking hand in hand through the crowd. Cream dragging Tails on a leash behind them. But in one of the alleys, the newly transformed Mephiles jumped down to the ground from energy orb.

"Lord Nazo said the emerald was around here somewhere." Mephiles whispered. "So...where is it."

Suddenly, Mephiles heard a female scream. As he looked down the alley, he saw a young girl being chased by thugs. The girl was a 19 year-old purple hedgehog that wore blue slacks, white and red shoes, white gloves with crystal ring cuffs, and a blue sleeveless shirt. As the girl passed by, Mephiles noticed the light-blue emerald hanging around her neck.

"That was easy." Mephiles commented.

The girl turned the corner in hopes to escape, but unfortunately found herself at a dead end. When she looked back, she quickly dropped to the ground as the thugs closed in on her.

"Don't worry, girly. This won't hurt...much." the thug laughed.

The girl began to cry and covered her eyes in her hands. As she waited for their blows, she suddenly heard the blows of their own direction. When the girl removed her hands, she noticed the thugs were scattered across the pavement and a new hedgehog was standing before her. The hedgehog offered his hand to the girl, which she accepted.

"That was simple enough." Mephiles said as he grabbed her hand to pull her up. "Now, hand me the..."

Mephiles stopped in mid-sentence when he caught full sight of her. Her eyes seemed to sparkle upon meeting him. Mephiles felt something in his chest was beginning feel warm and started beating. Mephiles felt his chest and couldn't believe what was happening.

"_What is this strange sensation?" _Mephiles mentally questioned. _"This beating. Is this...my heart?"_

"Oh, thank you. That was so brave of you." The girl grabbed Mephiles and hugged him, increasing the pulse in his chest. The girl pulled away. "I'm sorry. I got so excited I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Shira."

"I'm...uh...wait, Mephiles!" Mephiles said unusually nervous. "My name is Mephiles."

"I am so grateful, Mephiles." Shira smiled, making Mephiles even more nervous. "Is there anyway I could repay you?"

Mephiles stared at the chaos emerald around her neck. Now he knew that he supposed to recover it and bring it to Nazo. But something was preventing from saying those specific words. Instead, something else escaped from his mouth.

"Maybe...you would like to spend the day together?" Mephiles asked, surprising himself.

"You mean like a date?" Shira asked. Mephiles only stood there like an idiot. "All right, let's go."

Shira grasped Mephiles' arm and started to drag him down the street. Mephiles began to worry if he had made a mistake. As he was dragged down the street, Mephiles and Silver passed by each other. Though they did see each other, but the mental connection seemed to send off a signal. Silver looked back for a moment, but Mephiles was already gone. A couple yards later, Shira and Mephiles stopped in front of a store.

"What are we doing here?" Mephiles asked.

"Isn't it obvious? We're going shopping!" Shira cheered.

"You must be joking?" Mephiles sweat dropped.

"Please?" She asked with the invincible puppy dog eyes.

"_Can all females do that?" _Mephiles thought. "All right, fine. I mean, how bad can it be?"

---One hour Later---

Mephiles dragged himself out of the door with a horrified expression. His jaw was hanging and his eyes were bugging out.

"That was the most horrifying experience of my immortal life." Mephiles said.

"That was the best experience of my entire life." Shira said with an arm full of shopping bags. "Here, hold these." Shira tossed the bags to Mephiles, who skillfully caught them. "Nice catch. You know, I'm really glad I met you, Mephiles."

"You are?" Mephiles asked.

"Even though I have only just met you, I feel like I've known you forever." Shira said honestly, increasing the pulse in Mephiles chest. "Mephiles, I think I like you...a lot"

"Uh...I...I really like you too, Shira." Mephiles replied.

Shira sent a sweet smile to Mephiles. And to his surprise, Mephiles retuned with his own smile. Shira turned down the street and Mephiles followed behind. His mission was long forgotten. For the first time in his life, Mephiles was happy. The time demon continually stared at the girl with soft eyes. Finally, Mephiles could understand the feeling in his chest.

"_This girl...so kind...so pure." _Mephiles admired. _"Sharing my mind with Silver has opened my eyes. Shira...I think I lo..."_

Mephiles thoughts were cut short when he bumped into someone and fell to the ground. The contents of the bags were scattered everywhere. Shira ran back to help him up.

"Are you ok?" Shira asked as she helped him up. "Hey! Watch where you're going!"

Mephiles rubbed his head before he looked up. And right now, he really wished he didn't. Standing before him was his master, Nazo. Nazo didn't seem too pleased with Mephiles. Nazo sneered at him before he held his hand out to the demon. An orb of massive blue chaos started to form in the evil hedgehog's hand.

"Uh oh." Mephiles muttered.

* * *

On the other side of town, Silver and Blaze were sitting across from Cream and Tails at an outdoor restaurant. While Blaze and Cream were chatting, Tails was using every tool he had to break the leash. By now, he had already ruined six screwdrivers, four wrenches, and a high powered laser. Surprisingly, the leash didn't even have a scratch.

"What is with this thing?!" Tails exclaimed.

"Maybe Amy should consider doing that." Silver chuckled.

Tails then reached in to his namesakes and pulled out a chainsaw. Tails was ready to cut when an explosion appeared from the other side of town. Silver quickly jumped at this and suddenly felt a surge in his mind. It was Mephiles and he seemed to be in pain.

"We better hurry." Blaze told him.

"Right." Silver nodded.

Silver used his psychic powers to levitate across town and Blaze jumped across the roof tops. Tails saw this as a chance to escape.

"Well, better go help them." Tails said as he tried to run away.

Oh no, you don't!" Cream exclaimed. Cream pulled back on the leash and wrapped Tails in her arms. "You're not going anywhere."

"Why me?!" Tails whined.

* * *

Back across town, the entire street that Nazo attacked was destroyed. All items and shops were burned to a crisp and people were injured all around. All but the exception of two. Mephiles had his hand held out and somehow prevented the attack from harming him or Shira.

"Are you all right?" Mephiles asked Shira.

"I-I think so." Shira replied, clearly shaken.

"It would be better if you leave, Shira." Mephiles advised.

"Shira? So your referring to her by name. That won't do, Mephiles." Nazo said.

"You know him, Mephiles?" Shira asked.

"Uh...yeah. Mephiles said nervously. "You see..."

"I'm the one who sent him." Nazo interrupted. "I sent him to steal the gem around your neck." Nazo pointed to the chaos emerald. "But clearly I was wrong in doing so."

"That's because Mephiles is the kindest person in the world." Shira defended him. "He would never do something like that."

"He's not even a person." Nazo smirked, confusing Shira. Nazo held his hand out to Mephiles. "Allow me to show you."

Nazo released a pulse from his palm aimed at Mephiles. The pulse shattered Mephiles' shell and revealed to them his true face. Shira stepped and fell to the ground in shock. Mephiles' wandered to the ground, not will to see the horrified expression on her face. But it was in his mind. Her looks of horror and disgust. To her, he was nothing but a monster. And to make matters worse, Silver and Blaze jumped down close to the group.

"Mephiles! I knew something was rotten around here." Silver stated.

"What are you up to now?" Blaze questioned.

"Here is your chance to redeem yourself." Nazo said. "Kill Silver and all will be forgiven."

Mephiles was unsure of what to do. But from one glance at Shira's scared stated, he knew what had to be done. Mephiles charged forward and extended his claw towards the grey hedgehog. Silver jumped back and Blaze ignited her body to create a flaming tornado towards the demon. Mephiles, fueled by anger, merely swatted her away and crashed into one of the burned down shops.

"Blaze!" Silver called.

"You should be worried about yourself!"

Silver looked back and Mephiles grabbed him by the neck. Mephiles forced Silver to the ground and swung his claw down towards his head. Silver barely moved his head to dodge and placed his hand on Mephiles' chest. Silver released a pulse that sent Mephiles flew down the street. But Mephiles was prepared to give up that easily. Mephiles and Silver jumped back to their and charged at one another. All the while, Shira could only watch as the fight continued to unfold.

"I can't believe this." Shira said in disbelief. "Why is Mephiles doing this?"

"Because that is who he is." Nazo said; who suddenly appeared next to her. "That was what he was created to do. To destroy everything in his path."

"You're wrong!" Shira shouted. "Mephiles is the most kind-hearted person I have every met. He really cares about me."

"Please." Nazo rolled his eyes. "Mephiles is a heartless demon. He doesn't care about anyone. Now, about that emerald." Nazo quickly swiped the emerald around her neck before she could even respond. Nazo turned to Mephiles. "Mephiles! End this quickly! I will be waiting for you back at that castle!"

And with that, Nazo was gone. Back to the fight. Mephiles swung his claw downward, but Silver jumped back to dodge. Silver used his psychic power to lift several creates of items into the air and threw them forward. Mephiles easily sliced them in half, but was not expecting Silver to throw himself at him. Mephiles headbutted Mephiles in the head. Mephiles appeared in a daze before Silver kicked him in the chest. Mephiles landed on his back and then sat up with flames of rage in his eyes.

"That's it! I've had enough!" Mephiles yelled. Mephiles gather a tremendous amount of chaos energy into his left hand and held it out to Silver. "CHAOS LANCE!"

Mephiles released the devastating blast. Thinking quickly, Silver formed a barrier around himself to stop the attack. It had initially worked, But Silver felt himself growing weaker by the second. Using whatever energy he had left, Silver destroyed the barrier, sending shards of psychic energy flying. Mephiles attack reflected off the shards and wound up destroying one of the buildings. The building started to crumble and a large of rubble was falling...straight towards Shira. Mephiles saw this and reacted.

"Shira!"

Shira looked up and screamed for her life. Mephiles swiftly forgot the fight and ran to protect Shira. Mephiles knew he was not strong enough to stop it, so that left him with one alternative. As he reached Shira, Mephiles released one of his dark orbs. The dark orb surrounded the two and they both disappeared before the rubble hit. Silver was now more confused then he normally was. And that's saying something. Blaze joined by his side.

"What happened?" Blaze asked.

"I'm not sure why, but I think Mephiles just saved somebody." Silver said unusually.

"Do you think it had something to do with the chaos emerald?" Blaze questioned.

"No. Nazo took that a long time ago. But I think I have a vague idea." Silver said.

"Do explain." Blaze said.

"The minds of Mephiles and I are connected, right?" Silver asked. Blaze nodded. "Earlier, I felt Mephiles' feelings and I knew he felt something totally new to him."

"What was it?" Blaze asked.

"It's the same feeling I get when I'm with you." Silver said lovingly.

Blaze smiled sweetly at Silver. Silver and Blaze moved their heads closer and closed their eyes to kiss. But as their luck would have it, something interrupted them. Tails flew right between them, finally free from the leash. But unfortunately, Cream was following right behind him.

"But Tails, All I want is to be your valentines!" Cream shouted, sounding like her big sis, Amy.

"No way! Not in a millions years!" Tails yelled, also sounding like his older sibling, Sonic.

Silver and Blaze laughed at the antics of the children. They knew Valentines was a strange holiday. In more ways than one.

* * *

Meanwhile, at a faraway field. And orb of dark energy appeared over the grass and Mephiles and Shira fell down from it. Mephiles rolled over on his back and groan. Using chaos lance and dark travel can take a lot out of a person. Even if that person is and immortal demon. Mephiles sat up and looked to Shira who was also looking back at him. Mephiles stood up and offered his hand to her.

"Are you ok?" Mephiles asked. Shira made no reply; nor did she accept Mephiles' hand. Mephiles looked sad at this gesture. "Listen, I'm sorry that I lied to you about me identity. But everything I did was not a complete lie." Mephiles turned away from her. "I can understand if you hate me, but listen first. I may have lied, my feelings were not. I never meant to hurt you."

Shira looked up to him with eyes full of tears. But Mephiles couldn't see this with his back turned to her. Shira could never hate Mephiles, even if he was an evil demon. Shira stood back up and reached out to touch Mephiles. But before she could do that, and black hole formed next to them and Nazo appeared from it. Mephiles quickly stood in front of Shira to defend her.

"I thought I told you to kill him?" Nazo growled. "And what do I find? You defending something pathetic creature!"

"She is not some pathetic creature!" Mephiles defended, surprising Nazo with his rebellion.

"Why would defend her?" Nazo questioned curiously.

"I know that it not sound illogical and maybe even impossible." Mephiles began. "But...when I'm around Shira it feels like...I actually have a heart. I think...this feeling it my heart. I...I think...I love her."

Shira appeared touched by Mephiles proclamation. The tears in her eyes had escaped and started trickling down her face. Nazo on the other hand could only laugh.

"Love?! What a laugh!" Nazo roared with laughter. "What kind of person would love someone like you?!"

"I would!"

Nazo and Mephiles gazed on in sudden shock. Everyone, especially Shira, was surprised to find that it was her who had said those words. But Shira knew this was right. She took Mephiles' hands and placed them in her own.

"Shira?" Mephiles whispered.

"Mephiles, It doesn't matter to me what you are." Shira said with her heart. "You could be a human, anthro, or demon and it still wouldn't matter to me. The truth is...I think I'm starting to fall in love with you, Mephiles."

Mephiles could not be more happy than he was now. Thanks to their mental connection, Mephiles could always feel how Silver loved Blaze, but never having a chance to experience himself. Shira moved in closer and kissed him on his cheek since he didn't have a mouth. Nazo seemed in a bored stated. Though he wouldn't admit it, he was actually proud at how far Mephiles had come. Nazo walked towards the two as they embraced each other.

"So this is the path you've chosen?" Nazo asked.

It is what my heart has chosen. But I'm afraid I cannot follow it." Mephiles said sadly.

"Why not?" Shira asked.

"I made a vow to serve Lord Nazo for eternity." Mephiles explained. "I cannot break my vow. I am afraid this is goodbye."

"Says who!" Nazo yelled, catching the two off guard. "Mephiles, if you truly care for her, then you should stay with her."

"But what about my vow?" Mephiles asked.

"You will still honor that vow and remain with her." Nazo explained with a smirk. "After all, we do need more followers." Nazo moved closer to Shira. "Mephiles is my most loyal servant. If he can trust you, then so can I. From this point forward, you will be known as a member of the Dark Rulers."

Shira cheered happily and hugged Mephiles in joy. Mephiles would smile if he had a mouth, but the pleased look in his eye seemed to be sufficient. Nazo looked towards the sky and started to drift away in his own little world.

"_Mephiles. Despite your history, she has accepted you."_ Nazo thought. _"You have found love. Just as I once did. Isn't that right...Lightra?"

* * *

_**When given the chance, even demons can find love. Happy Valentines Day everyone.**


	26. Seeing DOuble, Getting in Trouble

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Chapter Twenty-Six: Seeing Double, Getting in Trouble

High above the Mediterranean Sea, The Egg-Carrier III lazy floated through the clouds. Inside the ship, Metal, Mecha, Violet, and Eggman were standing behind a glass window to another room. The room was a large training area that was set for the new recruits: the Metal Squadron.

"My soldiers are ready." Metal stated.

"Then let the final test begin!" Eggman announced.

Hatches from the roof opened up and numerous soldier mechs dropped down. The mechs locked on to their targets and raised their guns to opened fire. Metal Knuckles blocked the bullets with his enlarged claws. Metal Knuckles ran right up to the mechs and slammed his claw through the chest to tear them wide open. Metal Jet flew high into the air and dived past a few mechs. A moment later, the mechs were split right down the middle. Metal Amy used her super speed to glide right past the mechs and smashed them to pieces with her hammer. The mechs surround Metal Espio. Metal Espio formed a hand sign and vanished into thin air. The next minute, kunai appeared in the mechs armor.

"That wasn't so difficult." Metal Espio commented.

"Oh, I think I hurt my claw." Metal Amy said.

The other members of the squadron sweat dropped. Meanwhile, Eggman was typing in the results of the test into the computer. Needless to say, they had passed all expectations.

"Truly impressive." Mecha said. "They were able to perform the technique of their original halves perfectly."

"As you can see, Eggman Nega knew what he was doing when he created me." Metal said.

"Looks more like a dud to me." Violet muttered.

"What was that?" Metal said his most threatening voice."

"Nothing." Violet said quickly.

"They have passed every test we have given them." Eggman stated. "Well, except for Metal Knuckles on the IQ test. But that doesn't matter. Now we can send them to destroy those meddlesome heroes."

"How do you plan to draw them out?" Violet asked.

"All preparations have already been taken care of." Eggman said with a devious grin.

* * *

The Scene changes to the Sonic Heroes base. Amy was in the kitchen, making a cake for her favorite hero. Jet was lazily sitting on the couch, trying to watch whatever was on the television. Espio was playing shogi with Knuckles on the table. And the scary thing was: Knuckles was winning. Knuckles moved a tile to block off the king, ending the game.

"Check and mate." Knuckles said.

"How did you do that?" Espio said in disbelief.

"You don't have a lot to do when you live on a floating island your whole life." Knuckles said.

"What does that mean?" Jet asked.

"I have no idea." Knuckles said.

Espio and Jet sweat dropped. Meanwhile, Amy walked into the room with her completed cake shaped like Sonic's head. But at the moment, the base doors opened up and Bokkun came flying in. Bokkun flew into Amy's path and caused her to trip on her feet. The cake went flying out of Amy's hands and splattered all over the male's heads.

"Oh no! My cake!" Amy cried.

"Not bad." Jet said as he tasted the cake. "But it could use a little more yeast." Espio and Knuckles stare at him. "N-not that i would know."

"You better have a good excuse for ruining my cake!!!" Amy screamed while strangling the poor little robot.

"I...Have...A...Message...from...Metal!" Bokkun screamed while trying to breathe.

"Clam down, Amy." Espio said calmly. Espio applied pressure to Amy's right shoulder, sending her into a state of relaxation. Espio took Bokkun and set him on the ground. "Better up before she snaps out of it."

Bokkun reached into his small bag and pulled out a wireless television. As Espio took the TV just as Bokkun reactivated his jetpack. But while trying to leave, Amy snapped out of her trance and remembered her rage for the little pest. Amy whipped out her hammer and knocked the little robot out of the base and landed somewhere in Nevada.

"It's good!" Jet shouted like a football ref.

"These guys are worse then Charmy and Vector." Espio muttered.

Espio turned on the TV and activated a previously recorded message by Metal.

"_Greetings heroes. I have a little offer I wish to make."_ Metal said. _"I have recently created four very powerful machines and I want to put them to the test." _Metal pulled the yellow emerald into view. _"If you somehow are able to defeat them, then they will surrender a chaos emerald. Meet them on Angel Island in one hour. Oh, and try not to die."_

The TV shut off, leaving the heroes to ponder. But then, the TV started to do a countdown. When the TV hit zero, the small machine exploded in their faces. Bokkun could be heard laugh all the way from Nevada. That was until a mongoose jumped on him.

"So what do we do?" Amy asked while knocking the soot out of her quills.

"Those rust buckets are on my island!" Knuckles exclaimed. "I say we tear them to pieces!"

"How do we know Metal will keep his word?" Espio questioned.

"What have we got to lose? We've lost our self-respect a long time ago." Jet stated. "I'll get the emeralds."

Amy and Knuckles nodded and swiftly ran out of the base. Jet ran into the storage room and grabbed his Gear: The Wind Rider and both the purple and white emeralds. Jet jumped on his Gear and followed behind Knuckles, since he had no clue where Angel Island was. Espio only stood there with a stupefied expression.

"Somehow, I just know something will go wrong." Espio muttered.

* * *

In one hour, the four heroes had arrived at the shores of Emerald Beach. Out in the open waters, Angel Island lulled in the lapping waves. Without the Master Emerald to guide it, Angel Island went from a sky island to a sea island. Knuckles guided the crew through the thick forests of the island since he was the only one that knew the place.

"Be careful. There are a lot of dangerous creatures that live here." Knuckles warned.

"Hey, where's Jet?" Amy asked.

They turned around to find that Jet was indeed missing.

"I have a feeling we'll see him in 3...2...1..." Espio counted down.

"WASP!!!" Everyone saw Jet running by with a hoard of wasps behind him. "Get them off! Get them off! Get them off!"

"Saw that coming." Espio stated.

Jet ran randomly through the forest, smashing his beak a few branches along the way. Jet looked back and laughed when the wasps stopped following. His laughter was short lived when he crashed into stone wall

"Why me?" Jet muttered as he fell back.

The others found Jet on the ground a few minutes later. Knuckles looked at the wall and continued upwards to the rest of the structure. It was the Master Emerald shrine that once served as his former home. Knuckles took the steps to the top of the shrine while Espio and Amy helped Jet to his feet.

"Jet, are you ok?" Amy asked.

"Mommy, I don't want to go to school." Jet said in a daze.

"He's fine." Espio commented.

As Knuckles reached the top of the shrine, he was surprised to find that the red emerald was lying where the Master Emerald once stood. Knuckles was suspicious. Knuckles walked over and reached to grab the emerald. Knuckles then noticed a small shadow below him quickly growing bigger. The guardian echidna quickly jumped off the shrine just as a gigantic boulder landed. Knuckles flipped back and landed with his team.

"I just knew it was too easy." Knuckles said.

"That would be the first thing you ever known."

The four looked to the top of the boulder to see their attackers. They were more then surprised to find metallic copies of themselves staring down with evil red eyes. Metal Knuckles eagerly bashed his claws together, Metal Jet chuckled evilly, Metal Amy held her hammer on her shoulders, and Metal Espio tossed the red emerald in his claw.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Amy questioned.

"We are the Metal Squadron." Metal Espio explained. "We were created for the intention of your destruction."

"Well, you're going to have to do lot better then boulders to stop us!" Jet exclaimed.

"Will explosives do?" Metal Jet asked.

While they heroes held confused expressions, Espio noticed something beneath Knuckles foot. When Knuckles removed his foot, Espio found a thin piece of paper with markings. The paper suddenly ignited.

"Explosive Tag!" Espio shouted. "Everyone, move!"

Though confused by Espio's warning, the heroes followed orders. And just in time too. The flame reached the end of the note and released a large explosion. Knuckles covered his eyes from the smoke. But when he moved them down, Metal Knuckles came out of nowhere and socked him in the face. Knuckles tumbled backwards and flipped back to his feet.

"That's cheating!" Knuckles complained.

"Who cares?" Metal Knuckles shrugged. "All I want is to beat someone up."

"Then bring it." Knuckles challenged.

Knuckles and his metal counterpart charged forward and threw there fists. Both fist collided, but Metal Knuckles appeared to be the stronger. Knuckles bones were rattled on impact and was shaking like crazy. Metal Knuckles plowed his claws into the ground and, in an impressive feat of strength, flipped a slab of earth on top of Knuckles. Just when Metal Knuckles thought he won, Knuckles suddenly popped out of the ground and bash the phony in the face with his shovel claws. On another part of the grounds, Jet and Metal Jet confronted each other.

"If it wasn't for the fact that you're a glowing eyed, metal freak you would almost look as good as me." Jet bragged.

"Please, I'm way better skilled and better looking then you'll ever be." Metal Jet replied.

"Oh yeah?" Jet said.

"Yeah." Metal Jet replied.

Jet pulled out his fans and gave a hard swing. The fans created a backlash of winds. Metal held his claws forward and actually sliced the winds in half. Seeing this, Jet charged forward and jumped at his metal copy. Jet swung his fans across at the machine, but Metal Jet fell to the ground on his back. Metal Jet kicked his feet up to Jet's chest. The emerald bird fell to the ground and gave a short wheeze from the blow. Jet felt Metal Jet jump at him and held up the hand with Shahra's ring.

"TIME BREAK!" Jet yelled.

Metal Jet swung his claws down, but Jet was already gone. Metal Jet scanned the area, but Jet was nowhere in sight. Jet reappeared behind Metal Jet and kicked him in the back of the head. On another part of the grounds, Amy and her Metal counterpart were also engaged in the heat of battle. Ok...Maybe not battle.

"Wow, you uglier then I thought." Amy said.

"That dress and those boots. Girl, don't be talking to me about ugly." Metal Amy replied.

"You couldn't hit the side of a barn." Amy said.

"You ever heard of a thing called deodorant." Metal Amy said. Amy gasped. "That's right. I went there."

"It's on now!" Amy shouted.

Amy and Metal Amy whipped out there hammers together. Amy swung hers low, while Metal Amy aimed hers high. Needless to say, both pink creatures heard bells ringing. Amy clutched her stomach and dropped down to her knees. Metal Amy grasped her head to stop it from shaking. Amy's eyes flared with rage. Amy curled into her ball form and performed her own version of the spin dash. Metal Amy gracefully flipped over the pink ball with ease. Unfortunately, Amy rebounded off a tree and nailed Metal Amy in the back of the head. On another part, Espio and his counterpart were locked in a staredown.

"You're not going to give some long monologue, are you?" Espio asked.

"No. Unlike my allies, I take my job seriously." Metal Espio responded.

"Then...shall we begin?" Espio smirked.

"We shall." Metal Espio said.

They stood in place for several moments. Suddenly, Espio and Metal Espio threw numerous shuriken from their compartments. The shuriken clashed against each other, but Metal Espio's throw add more force. Espio's shuriken dropped like flies. Espio moved agilely around the shuriken as they flew by. But as the passed him, he noticed a single kunai with an explosive tag attached. Espio jumped just in time to avoid the explosion. Espio landed on his feet and performed a series of hand signs.

"Fire style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Espio shouted.

Espio breathed out a number of miniature fireballs from his mouth. As the fireballs came closer, Metal Espio also performed a series of hand signs.

"Wind Style: Gale Wind Palm!"

Metal Espio thrusted his claw forward, creating a huge gust of wind. The wing completely blew out Espio's fire balls. Espio cringed slightly. As the battles went on, Espio noticed how the robots knew all their moves. The metal versions could copy them completely. But everything has to have a weakness. Espio knew that they had to have one, too.

"Judging by your expression, I would say that you are ready to give up." Metal Espio taunted.

"Damn. This is one of those times I actually wish Vector and Charmy were here." Espio said out loud.

"Those two!" Metal Espio exclaimed. "Man, they are so annoying. I mean what kind of person..."

While Metal Espio rambled on, Espio saw this as a chance to attack. Espio reached into his wrist compartment and pulled out a shuriken with wire. Espio threw the shuriken. The shuriken wrapped around the metal chameleons legs and tightened together. Espio pulled back, forcing his counterpart to fall on his back. That when he realized something. They did have a weakness.

"Everyone, listen!" Espio shouted. The heroes turned their full attention to him. "They may have our abilities, but they also have our weaknesses!"

The heroes smirked deviously. The trio turned back to their opponents, ready to put Espio's theory to the test.

"Get ready for a beating!" Metal Knuckles raised his fist.

"You say you're better than me, right?" Knuckles questioned. Metal Knuckles nodded. "Does that mean you're smarter than me?"

"Of course! I'm the smarterest thing in the universe!" Metal Knuckles proclaimed.

"What's 10 x 2?" Knuckles asked.

"Overload! Overload!" Metal Knuckles screamed.

Metal Knuckles brain blew a fuse and fell to the ground. Meanwhile, Jet was trying to avoid Metal Jet's claws. Suddenly, Jet held his hand to halt his metal counterpart.

"Wait. Before you kill me, I think there is something you might like to see." Jet said.

Jet reached into his head feathers and pulled out a photo. Jet handed the photo to Metal Jet, who swiped it quickly and looked at it. It was a picture of the hero's trip to the beach and Wave in a bikini. Oil erupted from Metal Jet's beak and was knocked out. Jet sniggered as he took the picture back. Jet couldn't resist the temptation and looked at the photo. He was knocked out by a nosebleed. Now all that was left was Amy and Metal Amy.

"Look! It's Sonic!" Amy shouted.

"What kind of fool do you take me for?" Metal said while tapping her foot.

"Look! It's Metal Sonic!" Amy shouted.

"Where?" Metal Amy said excitedly and turned around.

When she realized Metal Sonic wasn't, she knew she had been tricked. Metal Amy looked back, only to be slammed in the face by her originals hammer. The four mechs were thrown into a pile. Metal Espio stood up, but his allies were not in the best form for fight. Four against one were not the best odds. Metal Espio reached behind and pulled out a black.

"We'll be back." Metal Espio forewarned.

Metal Espio threw the ball on the ground and in exploded into a cloud of smoke. When the smoke disappeared, the Metal Squadron was gone.

"Looks like things are going to only get tougher from here on out." Knuckles said.

"Nothing we can't handle." Jet smiled with a thumb up.

Blood was still trickling from Jet's nostril. Amy's eyes flared with rage and she quickly whipped out her hammer.

"PERVERT!" Amy said as she whacked Jet to Zimbabwe.

"We may have won, but I can't help but feel that something was missing."

* * *

The scene changes to the Egg-Carrier III. Eggman sat in his chair with Metal and Mecha standing on both sides of him. The Metal Squadron had just returned from their failed mission and twitching nervously. They knew from the memories of their previous bodies that Metal doesn't accept failure. Metal stepped up and confronted his troops.

"So, I created you with the most advanced technology and you fail!" Metal yelled.

"W-we still have the emerald." Metal Espio whimpered as he held out the red emerald.

"And you think that precedes to forgiveness?" Metal said coldly as he took the emerald. Metal threw it to Mecha. "The point is that you failed to defeat you originals and lost the chance to recover two more emeralds. I have no choice but to be rid of you."

Metal clutched his right arm and started to charge up his signature attack until.

"Wait!" Metal Jet suddenly shouted. Metal disabled his attack and heard out the metal bird. "W-we didn't fail. See."

Metal Jet reached behind his back and pulled out two items. The squadron was surprised and pleased to find out it was the white and purple emeralds the heroes had. Metal took the two into his claw and turned away from them.

"You actually did your job right." Metal said, sounding satisfied. Metal stared back at his soldiers. "Maybe I'll keep you around after all."

"Oh, I knew you would never get rid off me, Metal!" Metal Amy said excitedly. "We were fated for each other!"

Metal Amy jumped on Metal Sonic's back and hugged him, causing him to stumble a bit. Unfortunately, the sudden hug caused him to drop the emeralds. The moment the emeralds touched the ground, they were shattered to pieces. There was a long period of stunned silence. Metal Amy nervously back off and hid behind Metal Knuckles.

"All I know is, it wasn't me." Metal Knuckles said.

"They were fake!" Eggman exclaimed. "Those blasted heroes must have made them to trick us. They must still have the real ones."

"Impossible." Mecha stated. "The bug we planted in their base said that they emptied the vault as they left."

"But if they don't have them and we don't...who does?" Metal Espio asked.

* * *

The scene changes to night time in the middle of a vast desert. In the middle of this desert, a large broken tower laid untouched in its appearance of mayhem and destruction. Though it might not be recognized, this tower was actually the station that controlled Eggman's former company: Meteor Tech. At the top point of the tower, a pedestal stood pointed to the nigh sky. On top of the pedestal was the green chaos emerald and five stone fragments. Each fragment had a different color: red, blue, green, yellow, and purple. Suddenly a new figure appeared holding the real white and purple emeralds. The figure was none other than Omega, or as he now called himself, ABIS.

"Three emeralds are now in my possession." ABIS stated. ABIS placed the emeralds in the center of the fragments. "This should be enough to power them. Soon, my revenge will be complete." ABIS raised his claws and the emerald and stone fragments glowed. "GRAVITY CONTROL!!!"

The chaos emerald glowed unbelievably bright. The stone fragments hovered around the emeralds and started to glow themselves. The emeralds shot out beams of light into the fragments, which shot five multi-colored beams of light into the sky. Suddenly, a huge explosion of light filled the air. A shining crystal shrine supported by a giant halo floated down from the sky and remained hovered in the air. Those beams were actually a signal to call one of the most dangerous weapons in the cosmos.

"At last the destruction of the world has come." ABIS stated with glee. "The Wings of the Heavens: Babylon Garden."

* * *

**The Squadron may be down, but they are not out. What will be the Squadron's next mssion? And what does ABIS plan to do with the returned Babylon Garden? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes.**


	27. Sibling Rivalry, Part 1

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic or Naruto. Tomo belongs to Kiba Sniper.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Sibling Rivalry, Part 1

The scene opens up to a thick forest in central China. Espio was jumping from branch to branch in the trees while Vector and Charmy were stuck with walking. All of them were carrying backpacks they filled before their trip. Espio said they would be going away for a while and told them to bring only what was necessary. Unfortunately, for Vector that meant a TV, his stereo, and a couch. The one thing that was on the teams mind was.

"Where are we going?" Charmy asked.

"Don't know." Vector replied. "Espio just said to pack up and move it."

"But why did we have to travel all around the world today." Charmy whined. "Me and Raine were going to the park today."

"Shut up! You think I like this?!" Vector screamed.

"If you two will quiet down, come here." Espio said from the top of a hill. "It's time I returned home."

"Home?" The two questioned as they walked up the hill.

"Welcome to my home: The Village Hidden in the Leaves." Espio smiled.

At the point where Vector and Charmy reached the top of the hill, their mouths instantly dropped. Below them stood a forest wide city covered by the trees. A giant wooden wall surrounded the entire village with a giant two-door gate entrance. The more notable feature was the five faces carved into the mountain that overlooked it. Vector and Charmy rubbed their eyes and smacked themselves to make sure they were awake. They were.

"WOW!" Charmy screamed in amazement, nearly making Espio deaf. "This is cool!"

"Yes, it is." Espio groaned; his ear still hurting.

"How come no one has ever found this place before?" Vector scratched his head.

"All of the hidden villages try to keep themselves secret from all outsiders." Espio explained. "It is to make sure none of the villages secrets are revealed to the world."

"Secrets? What secrets? Tell me the secrets!" Charmy exclaimed.

"Can't tell you." Espio smirked.

"Why not?" Charmy asked.

"It's a secret." Espio chuckled.

Espio and the rest of the Chaotix walked down the hill towards the gate. As they reached the entrance, the group found two men standing sitting at a booth on the side. One man had brown hair covering his right eyes and a blue bandanna on his head. The other had spiky black hair and a cloth wrapped around the bridge of his nose. Both wore dark blue suits, green flak jackets, and metal headbands with a leaf symbol. They stood up when Espio's group came by.

"State your purpose of visit." The dark-haired man said.

"The hokage's got you on gate duty again, Kotetsu." Espio chuckled. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see you here, Izumo."

The two were confused how he knew their names. Espio reached behind his back and pulled a metal headband like theirs. He wraps it around his neck and tightens it into place. He raises his hand to his horn to give his own kind of solitary salute.

"Remember me?" Espio questioned.

"Hey, it's Espio!" Kotetsu yelled out loud.

"Boy, it's been three years since we've seen you." Izumo chuckled.

"You know him?" Vector asked the humans.

"The whole village knows him." Kotetsu said. "Espio's family is one of the more prominent clans in the villages. Especially that one girl. I forget, what was her name again?"

"That's not important." Espio said quickly. Vector thought it was A little too quickly. "Do you mind if we passed through?"

"No, not at all." Izumo said. "Just be sure to keep your friends out of trouble."

"Easier said than done." Espio muttered under his breath.

Leaving behind his old friends, Espio decided to show his team the sights. They visited the local dango shop until a creepy sadist lady named Anko scared them away. Espio showed them the flower shop owned by the Yamanaka Clan. Charmy asked a girl named Ino to help pick out a special flower for Raine. They visited a ramen shop called Ichiraku. Espio has never eaten at the shop because of this one boy who always visited there. Espio was too young to understand, but his parents always told him to stay away from the boy. An old man presented them with three steaming bowls of ramen.

"Yay! I'm starving!" Charmy cheered as he dived into the bowl.

"Charmy!" Espio growled lightly. He turned to the old man and bowed his head. "Sorry for my friend."

"It's no trouble, really." The old man smiled. "I haven't seen a face that joyful since Naruto left."

"Naruto, that's the boy who always comes here, right?" Espio asked.

"Yeah. That's him." The old man said before returning to work.

"Who's Naruto?" Vector asked, taking a huge gulp of his ramen.

"I'm not really sure." Espio said honestly. "I've heard people call him a demon, but I never knew why."

Espio paid the bill and guided them to the mountain. Espio explained about the Hokage's faces in the mountain and how they were important. The first and second Hokage's were brothers that founded the village, the Third Hokage mastered over a thousand jutsus, and the fourth defeated the fox demon, Kyuubi. But the last Hokage, Espio did not know anything of.

"So who is she?" Charmy asked about the last head.

"I don't know." Espio said. "They must have had a different Hokage when I was away."

"Too bad you weren't here to see that day." Team Chaotix turned to the sound of the voice. They found a white-haired man standing on the guard rails. He wore a standerd ninja outfit but had a mask over his mouth and his headband covered his left eye. He was holding an orange book. "Yo."

"You're late!" Espio shouted randomly.

"Sorry. I had to help a goldfish get back to the ocean." The man said dully.

"Liar!" Espio shouted. Both remained motionless for a moment before bursting out laughing. "I haven't done that in a while. It's good to see you again, Kakashi-sensei."

"It's nice to see you back home, Espio." The man named Kakashi smiled under his mask.

"Espio, who's the cyclopes?" Vector questioned.

"This is my teacher, Kakashi Hatake." Espio introduced. "He taught me everything I know about ninjutsu."

"Out of all the students I've had, I would say Espio was my greatest." Kakashi said as he suddenly appeared next to Espio. "But that's not much when I have only had a handful of students."

"Exactly how many students have you had?" Espio eyed him.

"Five." Kakashi answered simply.

"One of them wouldn't happen to be a red hedgehog named Recter Rose, would it?" Espio asked.

"Yes. How did you know?" Kakashi asked in surprise.

"We had a little run-in when he stabbed Vector with your famous thousand years of death technique." Espio said.

"It hurts to think about it." Vector whimpered while rubbing his poor bottom.

"But I'm not the only one who's trained him." Kakashi explained. "He also took lessons from Guy, Anko, and even the Hyuuga clan."

"The Hyuuga clan?" Espio's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. "Wow! I thought no one in the village or any other village was allowed to learn from them."

"He was the exception because he's not allied to any village." Kakashi explained. "He just happened to wander into the village, looking for someone to train him. He said he wanted to make someone pay for taking their sister."

"And we all know how that turned out." Charmy said sarcastically. "So, what's so great about this Hyuuga Clan, anyway?"

"Why don't we show you?" Kakashi smiled under his mask.

The two ninjas took Vector and Charmy to a large manor that belonged to the Hyuuga family. They were granted entry because the Hyuuga's and Espio's family were allies. They sat calmly as the head of the household trained one of the skilled members of the clans: Neji Hyuuga. Before he left, Espio heard stories of a member of the branch family being equally strong as the main house members. And judging from the fight, the stories appeared to be true. Neji and the leader slapped their palms at one another, neither of them showing any signs of fatigue.

"This is boring." Charmy yawned. "I thought they were fighting."

"They are fighting." Espio said seriously.

"If you call slapping fighting." Vector also yawned.

"That is what makes the Hyuuga so deadly." Kakashi said. "It may not look like they're doing much, but don't let that fool you. The reason the Hyuuga's are so powerful is because of their eyes."

"Their eyes?" Charmy and Vector questioned.

"Yes." Kakashi began. "The Hyuuga's bloodline limit, the Byakugan, allows them to see the internal circulation system in other beings. With that, they can attack to pressure points in the body and remove the enemy of their power."

"Sounds cool." Charmy smiled. "I want to do that."

"I don't know. It took Recter two years to learn how to fight like that." Kakashi said, making Charmy whine. Back in the fight, Neji slipped up and the leader nailed him in the chest. Neji collapsed to his knees, ending the match. "I believe that's enough sights for one day. I think it would be best if you went home, Espio. You're parents must really miss you."

"It was great seeing you again, Kakashi-sensei." Espio bowed.

And with that, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke. After saying their goodbyes to the Hyuuga's, Espio led his team down the direction of his home. Unfortunately, it was on the other side of the village. It was night time when they arrive and Vector was dragging himself across the ground.

"Come on, Vec. It's not that bad." Charmy said.

"Easy for you to say! You got wings!" Vector screamed.

"Mind keeping it down?" Espio asked calmly. He turned away from them "Guys, welcome to my home."

Vector pulled himself up, only to have his mouth fall straight back. Espio's home was as big as the Hyuuga manor, complete with a grove and a fish pond on the side. Espio walked up to the door and knocked on it lightly while Charmy dragged the shocked gator. The door opens to reveal a green chameleon woman with red braided hair and no horn. **(Females don't have horns)** She wore a white robe, meaning she was a doctor. She stared in shock at Espio before hugging him tightly.

"Oh, my little Espionage, you're home!" The woman cried.

"Espionage!" Charmy exclaimed before laughing

"I wouldn't be laughing...Charles." Espio smirked.

"Your name is Charles?!" Vector busted a gut.

"You're in no position to laugh...Victoria." Espio grinned.

"Victoria!" Charmy rolled over in laughter.

"Hey, what's all the commotion?" Espio's mother moved aside to reveal his father. Espio father looked like an older version of Espio with a curved scar on his forehead. He wore a standard ninja uniform and his head band around his neck like Espio. The man walked up and slung his arm around Espio's shoulder. "Espio. So glad you decided to join us."

"Thank you, father." Espio said respectfully.

"Let's all hurry inside. Dinners almost ready." Espio's mother said cheerfully.

"FOOD!!!" Vector and Charmy screamed and ran in.

"Oh no." Espio muttered.

Dinner was normal. Well, as normal for Team Chaotix. Espio and his family calmly ate their food in peace while the rest of Espio's team just gulped it down. They ate the meat, the sushi, the rice, and something that was unidentified, but still moving. Vector ran to the bathroom shortly after. Espio mother was washing up while Charmy curious examined all of the family photos hung on the wall. His eyes wandered to one particular picture.

"Hey, how come this picture is ripped?" Charmy asked.

Espio's parents seemed to stiffen and Espio hung his head. Vector shoved Charmy aside to examine the picture. It had a young Espio standing by his parents, the whole bottom right corner was missing. Vector thought it was strange that they would react to the picture.

"That's a picture of Espio's sister, Tomo the Chameleon." Espio's mother answered.

"I didn't know Espio had a sister." Charmy said. "Do you think we can meet her?"

"That's impossible." Espio's father answered.

"How come?" Espio asked.

"Over a year ago, Tomo was found...KIA." Espio's father answered.

"KIA? What does that mean?" Vector asked.

"It means killed in action." Espio's father explained. "Tom's body was found dead; covered in black flames."

That was it, Espio had enough. Espio stood up and silently walked out to the door. He opened and shut it behind him without saying a word. For as long as they have known him, Vector and Charmy both knew Espio was upset.

"Espio must be sad for losing her." Charmy said glumly.

"That's not it." Espio's father said.

"What do you mean?" Vector asked.

"All his life, Espio has always lived in his sister's shadow." Espio's father explained. "He tried to prove that he could be a good as her, but always failed. He couldn't win because Tomo was, well, a genius."

"She was super smart?" Charmy asked.

"In a way." Espio's father said. "She was gift at a young age. Every technique she learn, she would master it in little time. Espio was always so determined to beat. Now he never will."

* * *

Espio sat in a section of the forest outside the village on a large rock. Scattered around the area were targets hung on the trees, on the ground, and one hidden behind the rock. Espio would remember when his sister would always bring him here to train with her. It was during these sessions that Espio knew his sister truly loved him. But now she was gone. 

"_Tomo." _Espio thought sadly. _"She graduated from the academy at the age of six. She mastered the shadow clone jutsu at the age of eight. And when she was ten, she already knew one jutsu of each element. I always wanted to prove myself to her. To show her that I could be her equal. I wanted to be like her...on that day."

* * *

_

_---Flashback---_

Espio was nine years old and standing behind one of the trees. Standing not far from him was a purple female chameleon with shoulder length purple hair. She was ten years old and wore purple shoes with a grey stripe down the middle, grey shorts and arm length gloves, a red sleeveless shirt, and a leaf head band around her neck. She was wearing a blindfold while holding five kunai in each hand.

"Ready, sister." Little Espio asked.

"Always. little brother." Tomo replied.

Espio pulled on a sting. The string tugged against ten bells that were near the targets. At the sound of the bells, Tomo jumped into the air and flipped upside down. She released eight kunai in random directions and threw one forward. Tomo tossed the last kunai at her previous one, which bounced off each other. To Espio's amazement, the kunai all nailed their marks.

"_She even hit the one behind the rock." _Espio thought.

"So, how did I do?" Tomo said as she removed the blindfold.

"You hit them all!" Espio cheered and ran up to his sister. "You're the greatest, Sister! I bet you are even better than Itachi Uchiha."

"I'm good, but not that good." Tomo laughed. "Hey, aren't you graduating the academy tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I'll finally get to become a real ninja like you." Espio smiled. Espio turned around and pulled out ten kunai. "Hey, I bet I can hit all of them like you."

"As if." Tomo smirked.

"Oh, yeah! Watch me!" Espio exclaimed.

Espio tried to perform the same moves as Tomo, but only ended up twisting his ankle. Tomo was expecting Espio to do something stupid and brought her mother's first-aid kit. Tomo was trying to wrap his ankle, but Espio kept fidgeting.

"Stop moving." Tomo ordered.

"B-but it h-hurts." Espio said through the tears.

"It's not that bad." Tomo reassured him with a smile. She tightened the bandage around his ankle. "There. All better." Tomo sat beside Espio. "You know, you had me really worried there."

"I'll never be as good as you." Espio said sadly.

"Don't say that. You'll be a great ninja." Tomo smiled down upon him. "In fact, I bet one day, you'll be better than me."

"There's no way that'll happen." Espio said.

"Espio...a friend once told me that he had this crazy dream to become Hokage." Tomo told him. "I told him it was impossible. But he told me 'I'll become Hokage, no matter what! Believe it!'" Tomo turned to stare at her little brother. "He won't give up on his dream. why should you?"

"Thanks, Tomo." Espio smiled brightly. "You're the best sister ever."

_---End Flashback---_

* * *

Espio set himself in the same position as his sister with five kunai in each hand. 

"I won't give up on my dream." Espio told himself.

Espio jumped into the air and flipped upside down. He released eight kunai in random directions and threw one forward. Espio mimicked his sister and tossed the last kunai at his previous one, which bounced off each other. When Espio landed he found that the nine visible targets were hit. But when he checked behind the rock, he found that he missed the target by two feet.

"Even after all this time, I still can't match up to her." Espio told himself.

Espio recovered his kunai and slowly walked back to the village. Espio could already imagine the disappointment on his sister's face if she saw his progress. But while he passed the Hokage building, he noticed that the front gate was opened slightly. Quietly, he peered in through the crack and saw a Chuunin ninja standing guard.

"Excuse, but is this supposed to be open." Espio asked, but receive no response.

Espio tapped his shoulder lightly, causing the ninja to fall over. He was surprised to find a kunai lodged into the back of his neck. Sensing danger, Espio pulled out one of his large shuriken and ran into the building. Upon entering, he found two people at the front desk had dead. Espio ran down the hall towards the Hokage's office. He wasn't surprised to find other dead Chuunin along the way. What did surprise him was that there was also Jounin and a few ANBU scattered across the floor. Espio reached the Hokage's office.

"Lady Hokage! Are you all right!" Espio screamed as he banged against the door. "Lady Hokage!"

Having enough, Espio stepped back and kicked the door open. hunched over the desk were two women. One was known as Tsunade, the fifth Hokage, and the other was her assistant, Shizune. Espio checked their pulses and were relieve to find that they were alive.

"_Good, they're only knocked out." _Espio thought. _"But who would be skilled enough to knock out a Hokage?" _Espio noticed a yellow powder on the desk. He picked up a small sample and held it to his nose. He instantly knew what it was._ "Powder made from chameleon horns. An ingredient for a powerful knock out gas. But my family is the only one that knows this secret."_

Even with his back turned, he could still notice the shadow that reflected of the wall outside. Closing the door behind him, Espio slowly walked down the hall with his shuriken in hand. A door was cracked open at the end of the hall with a light escaping from it. Espio peered inside and found a clocked figure scavenging through the shelves filled with important scrolls. Espio quietly snuck into the room, but the figure already knew. The figure threw back a kunai, which Espio blocked.

"Who are you?" Espio demanded.

"Now, now, is that anyway to treat a lady?" The figure said in a feminine voice.

"So you're a kunoichi." Espio said seriously. "But evens o, I won't go easy on you."

"Good, then it will be an even greater pleasure to defeat you." The female said.

Espio threw his shuriken at the kunoichi, only to have to be blocked by her kunai. The female threw her kunai, but Espio flipped up to stick to the ceiling. Espio threw a horde of smaller shuriken, but the female blocked them all with another kunai. Realizing that weapons weren't working, Espio performed a series of hand signs.

"Fire style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Espio shouted.

Espio breathed out a number of fireballs. Unfortunately, the female also performed her own hand signs.

"Water style: Water Wall Jutsu!" The female shouted.

The female ejected a jet of water from her mouth. The water formed into a huge wall that blocked the Espio's fireballs. What she didn't predict was that hidden inside the fireballs were a horde of shuriken. The shuriken slipped past the wall and shredded the females cloak to reveal her true identity. Espio was not ready for who it was.

"It can't be." Espio uttered in fear and surprise.

"Long time no see...Little brother." Tomo grinned.

* * *

**Espio has returned home, but his sister has as well. What fate lies ahead for these siblings? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes.**


	28. Sibling Rivalry, Part 2

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic or Naruto. Tomo belongs to Kiba Sniper.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Sibling Rivalry, Part 2

Espio was standing on the ceiling, too much in shock to move. Down below him was his sister, whom he believed to be dead. Tomo was seventeen, a little taller, and still had shoulder length purple hair. She wore grey slacks with black tiger stripes, red sleeveless shirt, grey boots with black straps, a grey vest, white goves with compartments, and a katana straped to her back. She wore her leaf headband around her neck, but with a large scratch cutting across it, signifying her defect from the village. Taking advantage of Espio's stunned state; Tomo performed a series seals.

"Wind Style: Pressure Damage Jutsu!" Tomo shouted.

Tomo sucked in her breath and released it in the form of a black wind. Espio dropped down to the floor just in time. If the attack had hit, Espio would be sent lying with most of the roof. Espio tried to perform his own seals, but Tomo pulled back to trip her brother with the hidden wire. Espio sat up; But Tomo already held her katana to his head.

"That technique..." Espio murmured. "Such a jutsu hasn't been seen for over twenty years. Where did you learn it? And how are you even alive? You were found dead."

"Now there's an interesting story all in itself." Tomo said unusually happy. "But I mostly owe it to my teacher, Kakuzu."

"Kakuzu? Of the Akatsuki?" Espio questioned.

"The very one." Tomo said.

"Then the black flames were..."

"Itachi's Amateratsu." Tomo grinned. "I'll tell you, faking my death wasn't easy. The difficult part was finding and killing someone with a similar body structure to mine. But then I remembered our family in the west. Kakuzu took care of the rest."

"That would explain where you got the horn for the gas." Espio confirmed. "But I can't believe you, the pride of the entire chameleon clan, would ally yourself with the likes of the Akatsuki."

"Ally is such a strong word." Tomo said; resting her katana on her shoulder. "I prefer the term temporary friendship."

"But why would you join with them in the first place?" Espio asked; quietly reaching for his cuffs to grab a kunai.

Unfortunately, Tomo saw this. Tomo gripped her katana and rammed it into her brother's skull. But the katana soon found itself in the side of one of the scrolls. Clearly, Espio had performed a substitution to escape. Tomo flipped backwards as Espio dived at her from behind. Espio tired to spin around, but Tomo gripped him by his arm and twisted it behind his back. For extra measures, she held her katana to his neck.

"Now that wasn't very nice." Tomo joked. "Trying to backstab your own sister."

"Why are you doing this?" Espio seethed. "Why would you join the Akatsuki just to steal a scroll from the Hokage?"

"Revenge." Tomo hissed.

"Revenge?" Espio mimicked.

"I did not kill our family, join a group of criminals, and kill nearly everyone here just for a rolled up piece of paper." Tomo said with a harsh sting in her voice. "I came here for one reason: you."

"Me?" Espio asked quizzically.

"I want to pay you back for what you did to me." Tomo sneered.

"And what exactly would that be?" Espio said calmly.

"You ruined everything for me!" Tomo exclaimed. "I was supposed to be Kakashi's student! Not you!" Tomo slowly started to calm. "I'll never forget the humiliation you brought me all those years ago."

* * *

_---Flashback---_

A ten-year old Tomo and nine-year old Espio were standing in a clearing in the forest outside the village. Espio was smiling proudly at the leaf headband around his neck that he had just received hours ago. Finally, he was on his way to becoming a successful ninja. Both siblings were asked by their parents to wait for a friend of their father's. Apparently, this ninja was assigned to act as a private teacher for the chameleons. Tomo didn't see why since she was close to becoming a Chuunin, but she didn't ask questions. Over three hours had passed and the ninja was nowhere in sight. Tomo was meditating on the grass and Espio was half asleep. Finally, the teacher arrived.

"Yo." Kakashi said casually.

"You're late!" Tomo screamed, snapping Espio awake.

"Sorry. I got lost on the road of life." Kakashi lied...badly.

"Liar!" Tomo screamed.

"She's right you know." Espio stated. "You made us wait for three hours."

"I already explained myself." Kakashi said; his nose buried in his book. "I'm only her because your father is my friend. Now, let's begin with the introductions. Just tell me you names, likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dreams for the future."

"Why don't you go first?" Espio asked.

"All right. My name is Kakashi Hatake..."

"The famous mirror ninja?" Tomo asked in shock.

"That's me." Kakashi grinned under his mask.

"_Learning from the famous Kakashi." _Tomo grinned deviously. _"This might not be a waste after all."_

"You next, girl." Kakashi motioned.

"My name is Tomo the Chameleon." Tomo began. "I like learning new jutsu's and my brother." Espio smiled at that. "I dislike failure. My hobbies are training. And my dream is to become head of the ANBU Black Ops."

"That's a very ambitious dream." Kakashi said. "You're next, boy."

"My name is Espio the Chameleon." Espio began. "I like my family, especially my sister. I dislike people who mistreat others. My hobbies are training with my sister. And my dream is to become a ninja equal to the legendary Sannin."

"_They both have high hopes. This could be interesting." _Kakashi thought. "All right, it's time to get things started. But first, I feel that I must warn you. After this, one of you will be sent beck."

"What do you mean?" Espio asked.

"I mean...I can only train one of you." Kakashi said lazily.

"WHAT?!" The siblings screeched.

"I was assigned to put you both to the test and find if you are worth teaching." Kakashi explained. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver bell. "It's really quiet simple. All you have to do is catch this bell. Whoever does becomes my student."

Kakashi tied the bell to the side of his belt. When he turned back to the chameleon sibling with a somewhat confused expression. Espio appeared to be shaken, while Tomo gave a dark glare towards the white haired man. It was the kind of glare he had only seen in the Uchiha prodigy, Itachi. Kakashi had heard rumors about Tomo's advancement and pocketed his book.

"_There's no way I can win." _Espio thought.

"_There's no way I can lose." _Tomo thought.

"Shall we begin." Kakashi said casually.

Tomo swiftly snatched a number of shuriken and kunai from her back and threw them at Kakashi. The Jounin moved to the side and skid to a halt to threw his own kunai. Tomo ducked down to avoid it, only to find that Kakashi hand thrown a second kunai where she couldn't avoid. Seeing this, Espio quickly pushed his sister out of the way.

"You ok?" Espio asked.

"Just fine." Tomo grits her teeth.

"If that's the best you got, then you should just go home, loser." Kakashi taunted.

"Don't talk about my sister like that!" Espio exclaimed.

Espio pulled out his kunai and charged at the jounin. Meanwhile, Tomo retreated and hid under the cover of the trees. Espio swiped at Kakashi, but the jounin flipped him over his shoulder. Espio ran at Kakashi while creating a series of seals. Suddenly, four more Espio's appeared next to the original.

"Clone jutsu." Kakashi said coolly. "At least we know you were paying attention in class."

"_That won't work, Espio." _Tomo thought. _"This is Kakashi we're facing. This isn't the academy anymore."_

Two Espio's jumped at the white haired Jounin, but Kakashi did nothing to stop them. They disappeared on contact. Another of the Espio's attacked from behind, but Kakashi reacted to this one. He reached for the chameleon's arm and it was solid. The clones disappeared as Kakashi pulled Espio toward him and kicked the chameleon away. Espio slammed his back into a tree and fell on his hands and knees. Kakashi walked up to Espio; his nose once again buried in his orange book.

"I admit, your strategy was well thought out." Kakashi complimented. "If it were a Genin or a Chuunin, it might have worked. But as you can see, I am neither." Espio jumped to his feet. The next second, Espio found himself being suspended in midair by a rope trap. "What you clearly can't see is the traps set up in the area. Even Tomo noticed. She already avoided six traps."

"How was I supposed to know there were traps?!" Espio cried.

"A ninja must always be observant." Kakashi advised. "Otherwise, you would last long in the..."

Kakashi shortened speech left Espio wondering. What was it he was trying to say. Suddenly, Kakashi dropped his book on the ground. The white haired Jounin toppled forward and fell on his face. It was then Espio noticed an enlarged shuriken embedded in his back. Espio looked to the trees where the shuriken came from and found Tomo grinning madly.

"Sister! What have you down?!" Espio yelled.

But just as quickly as Kakashi went down, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"A shadow clone." Tomo realized. "That means Kakashi is no longer around here."

"Hey, Sister, how about a little help?" Espio asked. But Tomo's gaze was fixated elsewhere. Tomo turned away and ran off into the forest. "Hey, what about me?!" Espio got tired of waiting and cut the rope himself. He landed on the ground, only to be thrown back up by another rope trap. "Aw, not again!"

In an open field not far from Espio, Kakashi stood out in the open, reading his book. Kakashi was giggling pervertedly at the books content. Suddenly, a kunai stabbed the book and locked it into the ground. Kakashi turned to his left and, not surprisingly, found Tomo standing guard with a kunai in hand.

"So, you finally figured it out." Kakashi said calmly as he picked up his damaged book.

"It took me a while, but I began to realize that your movements were lacking what my father had told me." Tomo explained. "The only explanation is if your chakra had been cut to a smaller amount."

"What your father said was true." Kakashi said eagerly. "You're a true prodigy. The first in your family I believe. You have a lot to live up to. Think you can handle it?"

"Instead of talking, why don't I just prove it." Tomo smirked.

As Tomo began to perform a series of seals, Kakashi's single eye widened in shock.

"There is no way she could do that at such a young age." Kakashi said in disbelief.

"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu!" Tomo yelled.

A current of fire was unleashed from Tomo's mouth and completely engulfed Kakashi. As the flames died down, Tomo was quick to find that Kakashi had dropped from sight. Tomo drew two kunai to her hands and remained on guard. After several agonizing moments, Kakashi stepped out from behind one of the forest trees.

"It's amazing how quick you learn." Kakashi said, not taking his eyes from his book.

Tomo prepared to attack when another Kakashi stepped out from behind the trees. That one was followed by another Kakashi and another until at least twenty Kakashi had surrounded her.

"Shadow clone again?" Tomo smirked. "You are certainly a one trick pony."

Tomo rushed forward at the first Jounin clone she saw. Tomo cut across the clone, only to phase through it. At first, Tomo figured it was a regular clone. But she then noticed that it was still there. The female chameleon whipped out an enlarged shuriken and threw it backwards at Kakashi. But the shuriken phased through that Kakashi and three more behind it.

"What is going on here?" Tomo panicked.

"Well then, shall we get started." The Kakashi's said as they whipped out their kunai.

Tomo was blocking for her life. Meanwhile, Espio was jumping across the tree branches; the rope still tied to his left leg.

"I can't believe her." Espio grumbled. "She left me handing, literally. I hope she gets her butt kicked." As Espio reached the open field, he found Tomo, but she was swing her kunai like crazy at the air. "What is she doing?"

"I don't know what your little trick is!" Tomo grunted. "But I will not lose to a Jounin cyclopes!"

Espio figured out what was wrong. Tomo was a genius in ninjutsu and a decent fighter with taijutsu. But everyone has weaknesses and Tomo had two. First: Tomo had nyctophobia, which meant she was afraid of the darkness. Second: She had absolutely no skill in genjutsu. Espio figured it was the latter at fault. Thankfully, Espio learned how to break genjutsu in the academy. Careful not to get his head lopped off, Espio moved in behind Tomo and placed his hand on his sister's back.

"Release!" Espio called.

In Tomo's eyes, all the Kakashi's faded and Espio appeared next to her.

"What happened?" Tomo asked.

"Kakashi placed you under a genjutsu." Espio explained.

"Hmm. Dad must have mentioned that to Kakashi." Tomo muttered.

"That and so much more." And siblings turned to face Kakashi, who was casually leaning against a tree. "Be thankful I went easy and didn't use your other weakness."

"Don't worry, sister." Espio grinned and held his kunai forward. "I'll take him down."

Espio rushed on ahead while Tomo stood back. Espio jumped up and dived at his superior. Kakashi never took his eyes off his book. Kakashi raised his hand and blocked with the metal plate on his gloves. Espio dropped his weapon and resorted to basic taijutsu. But even so, Kakashi remained untouched. Peering over his book, he noticed that Tomo was performing a familiar patter of seals.

"_She wouldn't." _Kakashi thought hopefully._ "Not with her brother in the way."_

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!" Tomo yelled.

Tomo summoned up a large fireball headed straight for Kakashi. Unfortunately, Espio was also in the way. At the sight of the ball of flames, Espio froze in fear. Acting fast, Kakashi picked up Espio and jumped out of the way. The fireball crashed into the ground, creating an explosion of earth that sent them flying. Kakashi luckily landed on his feet and sent Espio safely on the ground. Just then, Tomo appeared next to them with a wide grin on her face.

"Looks like I win." Tomo said. Espio and Kakashi looked confused until Tomo opened her hand to reveal the silver bell. "Sorry, brother. But the better shinobi won."

"You're right. HE did." Kakashi said; emphasizing the word 'he'.

"Huh?" The siblings were confused.

"Tomo, you may have the bell, but you don't show the qualities needed to be my student." Kakashi explained.

"Qualities? What qualities?!" Tomo was outraged.

"A friend once told me that those who abandon their friends are worse than scum." Kakashi said as he dazed into his own little world. "The same applies to siblings. If you and your brother had worked together, you both would have been my students."

"So what does it mean?" Espio asked curiously.

"It means you are my new student, Espio." Kakashi smiled under his mask.

"What?!" Tomo flared. "You're picking this brat over me?!"

"Espio cared for your safety over his own." Kakashi said wisely. "He had someone to fight for. That is why he will be strong."

"Damn you!" Tomo growled at her sibling.

Tomo, fueled by her rage, started to perform a pattern of seals. Tomo was prepared for another fireball, but Kakashi had already summoned up his own and nailed Tomo directly. Tomo was thrown back to the trees and slammed into her back. Tomo tried to stand up, but Kakashi pressed a kunai to her neck.

"I think it would be best if you went home." Kakashi as he released her.

"I'll get you for this." Tomo glared at her brother. "I swear, I'll grow stronger and kill you. Mark my words."

_---End Flashback---

* * *

_

"As you know, I left the village shortly after." Tomo finished her story. "Two months later, I met Kakuzu, who proved to be a greater teacher than Kakashi ever could." Tomo twisted Espio's arm farther into his back. "I've been holding that promise for seven years. Now it's time I kept it."

"That sounds good, but theirs one problem." Espio smirked. "The gas should be wearing off soon and the Hokage will find you. even if you kill me now, you'll still get caught."

"Oh, and who said I was gonna kill you now." Tomo chuckled. "My plan is to make you suffer the same humiliation I felt all those years ago."

"How do you plan to do that?" Espio asked curiously.

"All they saw was a purple chameleon." Tomo said in a sinister voice. "And since I'm KIA, I am ruled out."

"Great, just one problem." Espio said. Suddenly, Tomo dropped her katana and Espio disappeared in a puff of smoke. Tomo looked back to see that her brother had used a shadow as a distraction before stabbing her in the back with a large shuriken. "All that's left to do is to present you to Lady Hokage."

"There's just one problem." Tomo slowly limped around; blood seeping out of her back and mouth. She slumped onto Espio's shoulder and moved closer to whisper into his ear. "I also met Orochimaru's subordinate. The truth is...I'm not really here."

Finally, Tomo died and fell on her back. Espio moved closer when her face suddenly cracked. Her face shed away like a broken shell and revealed the contents inside. It was a girl no older then ten. Espio had just killed an innocent girl. To make matters worse, the Hokage had woken up and snapped the room's door off its hinges. Espio was standing over a dead girl, with a weapon, in the secret scroll room. It wasn't a pretty picture.

"I heard about you, but I had never thought you would do something like this." Tsunade said disappointingly.

"Lady Hokage, this is not what it seems." Espio tried to convince.

Unfortunately, he absent-mindedly raised his kunai in the air, giving him a bad impression. Suddenly, an ANBU dropped in sight and clasped his hands together. Two beams of wood pooped out of the ground and wrapped themselves around his arms. Clearly, the ANBU knew the lost art of wood ninjutsu.

"Espio, the Chameleon." Tsunade said with a hint of strictness in her voice. "For mass murder and attempted theft, I hereby sentence you to a lifetime in prison until the council can decided a proper fate for you."

This was just perfect. In just a few short hours, Espio returned home, met his friends and family, discovered his sister was alive when she was pronounced dead, got caught in a bad situation, and was now being hauled off to prison.

"This day couldn't get any better." Espio said sarcastically.

Outside the village gates, the real Tomo was leaning against a tree branch, rejoicing over her victory. But still...

"That was just too easy." Tomo said and disappeared into the night.

* * *

**The bond between loving siblings had been cut. Will Espio escape from a life of prison? Or will Tomo make a clean getaway? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes.**


	29. Sibling Rivalry, Part 3

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic or Naruto. Tomo belongs to Kiba Sniper.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Sibling Rivalry, Part 3

Word had spread about Espio's crimes the next day, even though he claims it wasn't him. Espio's clan was furious, unable to believe he could commit such crimes. The Hyuuga's, the Nara's, and the Yamanaka's, also defended Espio. But the other five clans of the village had overruled them. The defending clans knew if the Uchiha and the Fox clan were present, they could have won. But unfortunately, they were both massacred by a member of their own clan. Espio's father arrived home with the news.

"So how did it go?" Espio mother asked with concern.

"Not good." Espio's father said solemnly. "Espio is found guilty and given a lifelong sentence."

"They can't do that!" Charmy shouted furiously. "He's innocent! Innocent I tell you!"

"Unfortunately, we have no say." Espio's father said sadly

"This can't be happening." Espio's mother burst into tears. "First our little girl and now this."

"Don't worry!" Vector exclaimed. "Team Chaotix is on the job! We'll find the lousy creepy who did this and save Espio."

Espio's parents both looked pleased. They felt confident in Vector's detective skills, even though he had none at all. It was Charmy who burst the bubble of hope.

"But Vector, you forgot your 'Idiots Guide to being a Detective' at home."

"He's doomed." Vector attitude changed.

* * *

High in the mountains, an active volcano loomed threateningly over the village. But inside the volcano was much worse. The large stone prison drifted untouched over the lava. The prison was set up for those who committed crimes in the village. People like Espio. Espio labored in the courtyard surrounded by inmates and ninja guards. He could almost hear Tomo's wicked laugh if she saw him now. 

"Pack it in!" The guard ninja called.

The inmates put down their tools and returned to their cells. Espio was the only who was required an escort. Fortunately, it was Izumo and Kotetsu who volunteered.

"I never thought we would see you here." Izumo said.

"I shouldn't" Espio growled lightly. "I was set up. This isn't my fault."

"And we believe you." Kotetsu said honestly. "But are words mean nothing." They opened the door and Espio reluctantly entered his cell. "Just try to relax."

"Hopefully you can get off for good behavior." Izumo said; placed a tray of food before Espio.

"What are the chances of that?" Espio asked.

Neither ninja made an effort to reply. They walked away; locking the cell behind them. He stared at the tray in front of him. He didn't feel like eating, but there was no sense in starving himself. He grabbed the loaf of bread. He tried to eat it, only to have it pinned to the wall by a kunai. Espio removed the kunai and found a letter wrapped around it with his family seal. Espio felt a wave of relief at the thought of his father helping. The feeling disappeared when he opened it.

_Hello, brother._

_I hope you are enjoying your stay. You should have realized that you should never have crossed me. Now that I have humiliated you, it's time I keep my promise. Meet me at the training grounds. It's there we shall settle this._

"Damn her." Espio cursed under his breathe.

Espio clutched the letter in his grip. He wanted to meet Tomo and end this, but how was he going to do it. The place had been known to be a ninja equivalent of Prison Island; nearly impossible to escape. With the traps, the lava, and guards at every corner, there was no way he could escape undetected.

"Hey, Raijin, I'm hungry." A voice said in the next cell.

"Me too, Fuujin." Another voice said. "Let's get some lunch."

Espio crept to the corner of his cell to get a better look. To his surprise, the prisoners next-door actually bended their bars and escaped their cell effortlessly. Both were large, fat, and had stupid looks on their faces. Espio easily recognized them as Fuujin and Raijin; also know as the legendary stupid brothers.

"Where do you think they keep the food, brother?" One of the two said.

"Uh..." The other said dimly.

Espio, along with the rest of the village, knew they only appealed to one thing: food. Grabbing his bread, Espio poked it through the bars in plain view of the brothers.

"Hey, guys, you look hungry." Espio grinned. "How about a bite."

Instantly, Espio jumped back as the two brothers rammed the cell bars down. The grabbed his food tray and nearly bit his arm off for the bread. Taking this opportunity, Espio escaped his cell and ran down the hall. He was unlucky to find Izumo and Kotetsu; whom heard the noise.

"Planning a breakout, Huh." Izumo said. Espio tried to reach for a kunai, but both his gloves had been taken upon his arrival. "Then you're going to need these."

Kotetsu threw Espio's gloves, which he caught with a confused expression.

"But why?" Espio asked.

"We know you're innocent." Kotetsu said. "This is your chance to prove it."

"But how do I get out?" Espio questioned as he replaced his gloves.

"You're a chameleon, aren't you?"

Espio smacked himself. How could he forget his own family ability? Noise could be heard down the halls. The brother's attack on his cell had alerted the rest of the prison. Espio performed a seal and blended in with his environment. With his escape ensured, there was only one target left: Tomo.

* * *

The kunochi in question was in fact waiting at the grounds where she and Espio once trained. She was patiently waiting on the rock, knowing Espio would find someway of escaping. She looked back to the times when she once expressed nothing but love for her sibling. But the memories all led up to one point: Kakashi choosing him instead of her. A menacing scowl appeared on her face. Suddenly, she drew her katana and whipped around to block two shuriken aimed for her. 

"I knew you would be here, brother." Tomo grinned.

Espio disabled his camouflage; bring himself out into the open.

"We have returned to where it started." Espio said seriously. "It is ironic that it will end here as well."

"One of is going to die here." Tomo stated. "You sure you don't want to run?"

"And disgrace my family name? Never!" Espio sneered before showing a grin. "I bet you would now all about being a disgrace, sister."

"Ok, talking is getting boring." Tomo expressed with a loud yawn. "I'm just gonna kill you quickly then go to sleep."

Despite being tired as she said, Tomo swiftly reached behind her back to throw a ballistic barrage of shuriken. Espio reacted quickly and reach for a kunai to block the shuriken. But hidden amongst the shuriken was an enlarged shuriken that a simple kunai couldn't block. So, Espio dropped his kunai and pulled out his own enlarge shuriken to block. But before he could even breathe, Tomo appeared to her brother and swatted her katana downwards. Espio used the shuriken to block.

"Give it up brother. You can't possibly hope to win." Tomo sniggered evilly.

"I...will never...back down!" Espio groaned with effort.

To Tomo's surprise, Espio had somehow drawn the strength to push her back. Espio flung his foot skyward, nailing his sister in the chin. Tomo flipped backwards and landed as Espio performed a series of seals.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Espio shouted.

Espio drew a deep breath and breathed out a number of miniature fireballs. Tomo, not falling for the same trick twice, performed her own seals and clapped her hands together.

"Wind Style: Gale Wind Palm!" Tomo shouted. A great gust of wind suddenly picked up and blasted away the fireballs and the weapons hidden inside. Tomo performed more seal and shouted. "Lightning Style: False Darkness!"

Tomo tilted her head back to a point where it looked like it would snap. She suddenly shot it forward and release a sudden bolt of black lightning. No one, not even Sonic, could avoid lightning. Espio was lucky to move fast enough that it only pierced his right shoulder. But the jutsu was more power then Espio had expected. The chameleon ninja was shot clear across the forest and fell into a lake bed not far away. Tomo appeared in an instant on top of the water.

"Do you not see the difference in our levels of power?" Tomo chuckled lightly with a cold expression. Espio weakly pulled himself to stand on the water. "Let's face it. It was a mistake that Kakashi chose you."

"No, you haven't won just yet." Espio said; panting.

"When will you realize that you could never defeat me because I'm a genius?" Tomo questioned; her expression change to one of strong hatred and suppressed rage.

"Because I know that even a genius can be defeated through the power of hard work." Espio said; his mouth curved into a smile. "I learned that from a man named Gai." Espio raised his hand over his open wound. "He was a bit of a freak and his student was hyperactive, but they both proved to be right."

"What makes you say that?" Tomo asked.

"Because I'm going to prove it." Espio stated.

Espio's hand began to glow a green aura around his shoulder. When he removed his hand, the wound Tomo created had disappeared.

"_Medical jutsu." _Tomo thought. _"Clearly mother has taught him a few tricks."_

"I can safely assure you that our mother did not." Espio said.

Tomo stepped back in fright as if she had seen a ghost.

"_Did he just..."_

"...Read my mind." Espio finished his sisters thought.

"Shut up!" Tomo yelled; seriously freaked out. "Who do you think you are?!"

"I'm the one who will kill you." Espio hissed.

Espio lifted his head to stare back at his sister. What she saw caught her completely off guard. Espio's normally golden eyes were now stained blood red with three commas surrounding the pupil. It didn't take a genius to know what it was.

"H-how can you..." Tomo gasped frightfully for a moment. "How can you have the sharingan?!"

"You'd be surprised at what tricks I have up my sleeve." Espio smirked.

"It won't matter! I'll still kill you!" Tomo exclaimed. She made a series of seals. "Water Style: Water Fang Jutsu!"

Three small whirlpools formed around the lake and a group of spinning water drills emerged from inside. They neared Espio when they were suddenly destroyed. Tomo didn't know how until see noticed three whirlpools around Espio.

"_Did he just mimic my jutsu?" _Tomo's mind raced with panic.

"That _is _the power of the sharingan." Espio said; reaching into Tomo's mind again.

"You think I can be fooled by some stupid trick?!" Tomo screamed. She drew her katana, which Espio mimicked by pulling out a kunai. "It cut you to pieces!"

Tomo charged forward and Espio copied her. Tomo slashed at left and right at her brother left and right, only to be blocked with her brother miming her. At one point, Tomo's nerves were so bundled that her katana slipped out of her hand when she slashed across her brother's chest. Taking advantage of his sister's slip up, Espio spun around and kicked her across the face. Tomo skid across the water before jumping back to her feet.

"I-I won't lose!" Tomo screamed hysterically.

Tomo brought her hands together and stared performed a long string of seals. Her hands moved so far that no ordinary human could ever hope to see. But amazingly, Espio was able to mimic every sign. Tomo stopped in the middle of her jutsu. How is that he could follow every move she makes? How could he have the sharingan? How? For a moment, maybe by some trick of light, Tomo could see her worst fear standing next to Espio.

"I-I-Itachi?" Tomo stammered.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" Espio yelled.

A column of water erupted behind Espio and formed a head of a dragon. Tomo, to stricken with fear, did not move as the water came crashing down over her.

* * *

Tomo's eyes shot open. She was back at the training grounds and no water dragon ready to kill her. Tomo felt a tug around her wrist and looked down. She was completely tired to a tree, her weapons discarded all over the grounds, and Espio sat on the rock with her katana resting on his shoulder like a trophy. 

"I was wondering when you would wake up." Espio said. "Judging by how you were shaking, that must have been one hell of a scare."

"W-what's going on?" Tomo stammered; utterly confused. "What happened? Where's the lake? What happened to the sharingan? Where is the jutsu?"

"They never existed." Espio stated simply.

"What do you mean?" Tomo questioned

"When you left, Kakashi was expecting you to uphold your promise." Espio explained. "Knowing this, Kakashi trained me to use your weakness and turn it into my strength."

"You mean..." Tomo gasped. "All that was..."

"Genjutsu." Espio answered. "I learned it from Kurenai and eventually created my own Genjutsu. Genjutsu: World of Deception." Espio's grin grew even bigger and more confident. "Like the Uchiha's Tsukuyomi, my can alter the world to any shape and form I desire."

"But when did you perform the jutsu?" Tomo asked.

"The moment we locked eyes when I arrived." Espio answered. Espio stood up and stared across to Tomo. "After so many years, I have finally defeated you, sister. Now to put an end to this." Espio formed a string of seals. "You have always been afriad of the dark, sister. Time to face your fears. Dark World Jutsu!"

A black void formed from Espio and engulfed Tomo completely. All that could be heard was Tomo's hysteric screams.

* * *

The next day, Espio had returned to the Hokage with Tomo captured. Espio's parents were happy to hear that their daughter was alive, but seriously disappointed at her lack of judgment. Espio's parents were standing before Tsunade in her office. 

"You will be pleased to hear that Espio has been cleared of all charges." Tsunade smiled at the two, who gave a sigh of relief. "I am sorry for the horrible mix-up."

"It is not your fault, Lady Tsunade." Espio's mother waved.

"What will happen to our daughter?" Espio's father asked.

"Because of the genjutsu Espio performed, Tomo has been put in a state of mental trauma." Tsunade explained. "But once she's recovered, we will have Ibiki interrogate her for information concerning the Akatsuki."

"That's good." Espio's father said.

"Dear...where is Espio?" Espio's mother asked.

* * *

Team Chaotix had decided to leave earlier then planned. But before they left, Espio wanted to visit the training grounds one last time. 

"You ready for this, Espio." Vector asked; placing a blindfold over Espio's eyes.

"Always." Espio said confidently. "On my mark, Charmy."

"Gotcha." Charmy said giddily.

All was quiet. Vector and Charmy knew this was important to Espio and didn't want to ruin it. There was only one thing on Espio's mind: the targets.

"Now!" Espio shouted.

Charmy tugged the string, ringing the ten bells around the targets. At the sound of the bells, Espio jumped into the air and flipped upside down. He released eight kunai in random directions and threw one forward. He tossed the last kunai at his previous one, which bounced off each other. When he landed, he quickly removed the blindfold. He hit all the visible targets, but what about the last one?

"Well, how did he do Charmy?" Vector asked.

Charmy glided over and above the rock to look down. Charmy turned back and suddenly ran up to hugged him.

"You did it, Espio! You hit it!" Charmy cheered.

A wave of happiness roared over Espio. He had finally proven he was as worthy as his sister. Vector picked up his teammate and suffocated them into a group hug. High in the trees above, Kakashi was gazing over his orange book and smiled proudly at his student.

"_He has gained new confidence in himself." _Kakashi thought. _"Who knows? Maybe one day he could actually become Hokage. That is, if Naruto doesn't kill him first."_

Kakashi chuckled at his own joke. With new confidence and experience, Team Chaotix set off down the dirt path towards home.

* * *

At the prison, Izumo and Kotetsu stood in front of a cell containing their newest prisoner. Tomo just sat there with a distant and dazed look in her eyes. She wasn't even aware of her inmates, the stupid brothers. 

"Poor things." Izumo said. "She's suffering under severe trauma."

"Who would have though Espio would be capable of harming his own sister?" Kotetsu said.

"Hey, we're hungry!" One of the brothers yelled.

"Yeah, hungry!" The other yelled.

"All right, come on." Izumo said as he unlocked the door.

The stupid brothers followed the ninja's to the kitchen, not bothering to lock the cell because of Tomo's state. But even though she was unaware of her surroundings, Tomo could feel a cold hand being placed upon her head. Suddenly, sense returned to her mind. Her vision cleared and she could see who was with her. Mephiles stood before Tomo with Erazor and Shira beside him. Tomo reacted by reaching for her katana, but it was missing. All her weapons were gone, making her defenseless. Shira walked up to her and asked.

"Looking for these?"

Shira held out Tomo's katana and gloves. Tomo didn't know if she could trust them, but she was reluctant to grab them. She replaced the weapons to their proper places and turned to the small fraction of Dark Rulers.

Who are you and what do you want?" Tomo growled.

"Be grateful, reptile." Erazor sneered. "If it was me, I would have left you here to rot."

What Erazor is trying to say..." Mephiles cut in to prevent a fight. "Our master has been watching you and he is very pleased."

"So what?" Tomo questioned.

"So...Lord Nazo would like to extend his hand to you and make you a Dark Ruler." Mephiles said coldly.

Tomo felt her heart drop to her stomach. Even the Akatsuki had heard of the Dark Rulers and feared them beyond all else. To have someone offer them a place amongst their ranks was one of the greatest and possibly lethal honors. Tomo thought of the possibilities. If she refused, she would remain trapped here. If she accepted, she could die.

"So...when do I start?" Tomo sniggered fiendishly.

* * *

The scene changes to a faraway mountain range. Upon a hill, a man with pale white skin, flowing black hair, and piercing yellows eyes gazed along the tree tops in the forest in front of him. He was the wretched snake of the leaf village, Orochimaru. But he wasn't alone. A snake slithered in the grass near...and stood up? The snake had been none other then the murderous Naga the Snake. 

"Naga...it's been at least fifteen years since we've last contacted." Orochimaru said coolly.

"And you have aged gracccefully." Naga said; taking note of Orochimaru's youthful appearance. "Isss that a new body?"

"Yes, unfortunately." Orochimaru said. "I ran out of time and couldn't posses the body I desired."

"Then I guesss you'll just have to wait three more yearsss till then." Naga hissed.

"I should thank you." Orochimaru presented him with a rare smile. "If it wasn't for your theory of immortality, I never would have created the reincarnation jutsu."

"It isss only fair." Naga hissed. "You provided me with the tessst subjectsss that I needed for my experimentsss."

"Speaking of the experiments, how are they?" Orochimaru asked.

"It wasss fine until that wrenched rat, Gale the Hedgehog, showed up." Naga hissed "He tried to kill me for exxxperimenting on hisss newborn son. He failed, but paralyzed half of my body. If it wasn't for those insectsss, I would not be here."

"Cruel and malicious." Orochimaru said pleasingly. "You are an excellent partner."

"That'sss why you created me...father." Naga hissed.

* * *

**Espio's dream has become a reality. But how Tomo's union with the Dark Rulers effect the war? And what secrets does Naga hide? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes.**

**Please, read and review.**


	30. Dealing with Kids

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: Tomo belongs to Kiba Sniper.

Chapter Thirty: Dealing with Kids

The scene opens up to a new morning day at the base of the Sonic Heroes. Tails trying to focus on the breakfast in front of him, but found it difficult with Cream, who was gazing from across the table. Every time he looked up, he could swear she had moved an inch closer. Lucky for him, Knuckles and Rouge walked into the room, hand-in-hand.

"This night is something you won't ever forget. I promise." Knuckles told Rouge.

"Hey, where are you going?" Tails asked; eager to get away from Cream.

"Knucklehead is taking me some hidden palace on Angel Island" Rogue informed them.

"Why?" Cream asked; joining Tails side.

"It is Echidna tradition that engaged couples are to perform a marital ritual in the hidden palace under a full moon." Knuckles explained. "The ritual requires the approval of the chief. But since there is none, we've decided to ask Tikal."

"Can we come and watch?" Cream asked.

"Sorry, kids, but you're too young." Rouge said. "Maybe next time."

"But Knuckles is the last Echidna." Tails complained.

"Well...Sorry." Rouge said apologetically.

Knuckles took Rouge by her arm and led her away from the children. Tails knew they were heading to the storage room to speak with Tikal. Cream was advancing to Tails, but fortunately he was saved when Sonic, Shadow, and Amy walked in. All of the seemed excited over something, which Cream noticed.

"Hey, whatcha doing?" Cream asked.

"Sonic and Shadow want to see who can break the sound barrier first." Amy explained. "They're to run all around the world until no one can see them anymore. They asked me to be judge."

"That sounds cool!" Tails exclaimed. "Can we watch?"

"Sorry, bro, but you're a little small." Sonic said sheepishly.

"That's not fair!" Tails whined.

"Life isn't fair." Shadow said unemotionally.

Tails whined and stomped his feet, the hedgehogs paid no attention. Amy dragged the male hedgehogs outside before Tails began to throw a tantrum. Just then, Blue walked in.

Hey, guys. I was just..."

"Going to do something fun." Tails finished for him.

"But we can't join you because we're too small of too young." Cream continued with a grim expression.

"Can you read my mind?" Blue questioned. He gave an expression of panic and clutched his head. "Get out of my head! AAH!" Blue scream and literally ran through the wall.

"I'm not cleaning that up!" Shadow shouted from a distant.

"It just not fair." Cream whined. "Every time went want to have fun, they say we're too little."

"For once, I wish I could tell them that." Tails said.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the dreary dimension of the Dark Rulers. Nazo and his followers gathered around the stone table that held Nazo's chess board. The board had been transformed into a map of the world, the figures were scattered everywhere, and the three spaces were sticking apart from the map. One space was the Dark Rulers Realm; where their pieces were along with Shira and Tomo's, another was Silver's original time, and another was a series of islands. But the one thing that caught Nazo's attention was Omega's piece standing near a miniature version of Babylon Garden.

"What about using the chaos emeralds to create a monster to destroy the city?" Tomo suggested.

"My brother already did that." Nazo informed.

The Dark Rulers were trying to come up with a plan to fight the heroes. But so far, nothing.

"What if travel through time to turn them against each other?" Shira suggested.

"I already did that." Mephiles said. "Silver isn't affected by the time paradox."

"Let's face it, we've hit rock bottom." Erazor said disappointingly. The Dark Rulers hung their heads.

"Maybe it would be a good idea to check up on the heroes." Black Doom suggested.

"It's better then nothing." Nazo said bored.

Nazo waved his hand across the wall opposite him to open a viewing portal into the hero's base. The portal replayed all of the events that had happened that morning till it reached a point that caught Nazo's attention.

"_It just not fair." Cream whined. "Every time went want to have fun, they say we're too little."_

"_For once, I wish I could tell them that." Tails said._

"So, they want to know what it's like to grown up, huh?" Nazo said with a sinisterly smile. "Erazor, I feel that we should help them. Don't you agree?"

"Yes." Erazor replied; equally sinister. "And I believe I have just the thing." Erazor pulled a bottle of blue gas from behind his back.

"Erazor, did I even mention how much I love your potions?" Nazo asked.

"No." Erazor replied.

"Good. That's how it should be." Nazo chuckled.

* * *

The scene turns back to the Sonic Heroes base. Amy prepared dinner as usual because they were afraid of Rouge's cooking. Last time she cooked, the meatloaf tried to bite Sonic's nose off. Sonic and Shadow were sweating like crazy when they came back. On the up side, Sonic broke the sound barrier first. Rouge spent all day trying to prepare for the ceremony later and Blue ran away screaming every time he saw the kids. But Tails and cream on the other hand were in a bad mood. They kept poking at their food; refusing to eat.

"What's wrong, you two?" Amy asked. "You haven't touched your food."

"You sure were not too small to see that?" Tails said sarcastically.

"Or maybe we're too young to eat on our own." Cream joined.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Shadow asked.

"It means you treat us like little kids!" Tails suddenly burst.

"It's because you are." Knuckles stated.

"No were not!" Tails shouted. "We've done things you guys could!"

"That's because usual Sonic or Knuckles is there to help you." Blue stated.

"I defeated Nazo's monster all by myself." Cream said.

"You're comparing us to Nazo's monster?" Rouge stifled a laugh.

"If you don't want to treat us equally, then fine!" Tails shouted. Tails jumped down from his seat and walked back to his workshop.

"Tails, wait for me!" Cream cried and followed him.

"What's up with them?" Knuckles asked.

"Not even you are that thick, knucklehead." Rouge said sternly. "It's obvious that they feel left out."

"I have to admit, they have shown some maturity beyond their age." Shadow said. "Maybe we should give them the benefit of the doubt."

"Fine." Sonic said with a sigh. "We'll talk to them after I'm done eating."

The other heroes glared at him as he continued to stuff his face. But unknown to them, Tomo had snuck into the base under her camouflage and was sticking to the ceiling above them. Tomo pulled out the bottle from Erazor and uncorked it. The gas inside the bottle fell on the unsuspecting heroes, catching them by surprise. When the gas cleared, the heroes were gone, Tomo had disappeared, and Tails and Cream returned to the room.

"I don't want to talk to them, Cream." Tails said; still fuming.

"Tails, I don't like it when you're angry." Cream said with tears in her eyes. "Just talk to them."

"Fine. But if they – Hey, where are they?" Tails asked.

Cream turned back to the table and was surprised to find that the rest of their friends were missing. Cream could have sworn she saw something move on the ceiling, but figured that it was her imagination. Just then, one of the chairs moved. Taking a risk, Tails moved to the chair and swiftly turned it to around to find Sonic. The only problem was that he was...

"A baby!" Tails yelled in fright. "Sonic's a baby!"

It was true. A baby Sonic was sitting in the chair, clapping and giggling. Tails was afraid of the question in his mind, but reluctantly turned the chair next to him. Shadow was also a baby and sucking on his thumb. Cream turned the other to find Amy, Rouge, and Knuckles all babies and Blue was a...jellyfish?

"I'm not even going to ask." Cream said; referring to Blue. "What happened to them, Tails? Why are they like this?"

"I don't know. Maybe something went wrong with Amy's cooking?" Tails chuckled lightly. Cream's expression was deadpanned. "Ok, so that's not it. I should check in my workshop for – Ouch!"

Tails jumped slightly when he felt a sharp pain in his namesake. He looked down to find Rouge biting on one of tails. He swiftly pulled it away from her mouth, but the baby bat only started crying. Cream picked up baby Rouge and cradled her like her own mother once did. As Cream looked, she found a small pointed tooth breaching from the babies gums.

"Aw, she's teething." Cream said softly. "It's not her fault. She needs to bite."

"Uh-uh! No way!" Tails exclaimed; pulling his namesake closer to his chest. "She is not getting anywhere near..." Rouge started to cry more loudly. "All right, all right." Tails gave up and put his namesake into her mouth. Rouge cooed happily. "I'll be in the workshop trying to figure this out. Just make sure they don't get into trouble."

"You got it." Cream saluted. Tails grabbed Rouge and took her with him to his workshop. Cream turned back to the children. "Don't worry, Tails will figure everything out. So why don't we just – Where's Sonic and Shadow?"

Meanwhile, in Tails workshop. Tails was examining a beaker filled with a bubbling concoction, trying to ignore Rouge's biting. Tails accidentally knocked over one of his tools and bent down to pick it up. But as he did that, Sonic zoomed in and grabbed the beaker before zooming out. Tails sat back up and found his beaker gone.

"Where'd it go!" Tails exclaimed.

Tails dropped down to the floor, hoping that it had only rolled on the floor. Unknown to him, Sonic zoomed back in and set the beaker in its proper place. Then Shadow came in and pour a number of unknown chemicals before the two zoomed out. Tails propped himself back onto the table and was surprised to find his beaker back. The beaker suddenly started to rumble before exploding in his face. The baby hedgehogs zoomed back into the room, giggling.

"I hope Cream is having a better time then me." Tails said in a low voice.

Unfortunately she wasn't. Amy kept crawling at the speed of sound, tripping Cream more then once. Knuckles was lifting the couch with his still impressive strength when Blue slithered up to him. Knuckles threw the couch away and picked up Blue before she sucked on him like a bottle.

"Knuckles, no!" Cream said sternly as she pulled Blue free. "No sucking on Blue." Just then, Amy zoomed by. "Amy! No breaking the sound barrier in the house. Ok, that sounded odd."

Cream ran into the kitchen where Amy was throwing a series of pot and pans out from one of the lower cabinets. Cream ducked under when two pots came flying, but was unable to avoid being hit in the face by a frying pan. Fuming, Cream dived and the baby pink hedgehog. Unfortunately, Amy ducked down and Cream was thrown into the cabinet. Amy unknowingly shut it and locked it with Cream inside.

"Amy, let me out!" Cream yelled; banging the cabinet door. "I mean it, Amy!"

But Amy only sat there play with the pots. Meanwhile, Knuckles and Rouge were in Tails workshop, tugging and pulling against one of the fake emeralds Tails invented.

"Mine!" Rouge tugged.

"Mine!" Knuckles tugged back

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

"It's mine!" Tails jumped up and pulled the fake jewel from them reach. "Now please be quiet while I try to sort this out."

But that didn't sit too well with Knuckles. The baby echidna picked up Tails by his namesakes and slammed him up and down on the floor. After a few brutal beat downs, Tails dropped the fake emerald and the two baby jewel lovers resumed their quarrel.

"Mine!" Rouge tugged the emerald.

"Mine!" Knuckles tugged back.

"How can it get any worse?" Tails whined.

Back in the living room, Sonic was sitting in front of the TV, watching some program. Just then, Amy came up to him and started to hug him. Upon contact, Sonic started to cry, which caught Cream's attention.

"Amy, let go of Sonic right now!" Cream said sternly.

When she refused to listen, Cream tugged on Amy until she let go. Upon the separation, Amy started to cry more loudly then Rouge. In a panic, Cream put Amy back, stopping her crying. Unfortunately, Sonic started to cry himself. Back and forth, Cream was separating and uniting them, both crying at separate times. The two kept crying until Cream was in tears herself. The two baby hedgehogs stared at her like she was crazy. a few hours later, Tails came out of his workshop with a depressive look.

"Sorry, Cream. But there was nothing I could..." Tails trailed of when he looked around the living room. The babies where wrecking the entire base and Cream was sitting in a chair in the center of the room; bound and gagged. Tails ran over to her and removed the gag, which turned out to be Blue. "What happened?"

"What does it look like." Cream said irritably. "Shadow tied me up."

"Wow, even as a baby, he's dangerous." Tails said; very impressed.

"I don't know how it could get any worse." Cream said. Suddenly, the alarm went off. "It just got worse."

A video screen appeared and the G.U.N. commander was on screen.

"Heroes! The Dark Rulers are..." The commander trailed off when he noticed the chaos around them. "Uh...Is there something I should know about."

"Never mind. What's going on?" Tails asked as he untied the ropes around Cream.

"Uh...The Dark Rulers are attacking the city." The commander said uneasily. "And we need you to stop them."

"We're on our way!" Tails proclaimed.

"But, Tails, what about Amy and the others?" Cream asked.

"Don't worry, I got just the plan." Tails smirked.

* * *

The scene changed to Station Square, which was being destroyed at this very moment. Nazo used his chaos blade to slice the buildings down the middle. Black Doom used his swift strike to cut them down to size. Erazor used his razor blade to cut them to pieces. Tomo used her dragon fire jutsu to burn them down. And Mephiles used his chaos lance while Shira cheered him on.

"My lord, this is the greatest plan you have ever come up with." Mephiles said to Nazo.

"I must also thank Erazor for providing the potion and Tomo for getting the job done." Nazo smiled evilly. Erazor and Tomo beamed at the compliments.

"But what do we do if they return?" Black Doom asked.

"Please, what can they do?" Shira chuckled.

"We'll stop you, that's what we'll do!"

The Dark Rulers turned around to find Tails and Cream, who were pushing a stroller carrying the six children. The Dark Rulers broke down laughing.

"Y-y-you must be j-joking!" Tomo gasped through her laughter.

"Tails, they're laughing at us." Cream said.

"It's not our fault we're stuck taking care of them." Tails replied.

"No, that would be us." Erazor said; stopping his laughter.

"Huh?" The two asked.

"We're the ones who used the potion to turn the heroes into infants." Nazo smirked.

"You mean...you're the reason we went through all that suffering?" Tails asked; growling lightly.

"Yeah. What are you going to do about it?" Black Doom chuckled.

Tails shoulders shook slightly as if he was crying. But when he lifted his head up, his eyes were red with anger. Cream picked up the kids and dropped out of sight. Tails got down on all fours and charged at the villains. They paused for a moment as they stared at Tails as if they in the face of death. Tails jumped on the Dark Rulers and...

* * *

The scene changes to Egg-Carrier III with Metal sitting in a chair with his squadron surrounding him.

"Sorry to interrupt, but the following was too graphic for this story." Metal Jet said.

"Instead, you get to watch us watch the fight instead." Metal Knuckles said.

Metal and his squadron looked and the viewing screen, cringing slightly when something gruesome happened.

"Ooh, he's going to feel that in the morning." Metal Espio moaned.

"I had no idea someone's legs could bend that way." Mecha said.

"That's definitely got to hurt." Metal Amy said.

"Oh look, it's over." Metal said. "Thanks for watching."

* * *

The scene turns back to Station Square and a sort of funeral music was heard in the background. Tomo had her legs bent over her shoulder, Shira was unconscious, Mephiles was splattered across the walls, Erazor had his hair snipped and he teeth knocked out, Black Doom's body was destroyed and his real form had a black eyes. Tails was holding Nazo in the air by his neck.

"What kind of monster are you?" Nazo said in fear.

"Sonic and the others..." Tails growled. "How do I change them back?"

"The potion wears off after 24 hours." Nazo said; shaking with fear. "Please don't hurt me!"

Acting fast, Nazo dissolved himself into a smoke of shadow before disappearing. The others soon followed after. Later at the base, Tails and Cream fell back on the couch and exhaled huge sighs.

"What a day." Tails groaned.

"I can't wait till were the kids again." Cream said.

"Come on, Cream. It wasn't that back." Tails said. Cream gave him a 'are-you-serious' look. "Ok, so it was. But hey, the worst is over."

The two turned back to the baby heroes. Knuckles was smashing his fists into the wall, Rouge was hanging by the ceiling fan, Sonic was climbing the book shelf to escape from Amy, Shadow was plying with a gun he found in his room, and Blue was slithering around, leaving a trail of slime behind. All in all, the base was like hell.

"I'm going to bed." Tails groaned and left the room.

"Me too." Cream said as she followed.

"Cream." Tails said.

"Yes?" Cream replied.

"GET OUT OF MY BED!" Tails yelled at the top of his lungs.

This was one hell of a day.

* * *

**Sometimes its best to stay who you are. I have run out of questions so stayed tuned for the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	31. A New Face

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: Tomo belongs to Kiba Sniper.

Chapter Thirty-One: A New Face

The sun rose to approach the next day. The day after that whole baby episode. After their little babysitting trouble, Tails and Cream took the Tornado III and are currently hiding out somewhere in southern Africa. The suns bright rays glared through the window of Sonic and Shadow's room, giving a certain blue hero a rude awakening. Sonic groaned and pulled the sheets over his head. His head was pulsing fiercely. What did he do last night?

"Ugh...what happened?" Sonic groaned. "I feel like I got run over a stampede."

His head still throbbing, Sonic reluctantly pulled himself out of bed. Looking over at his roommate, the blur could tell his dark counterpart was also feeling the same way. Sonic left his room and forced himself down the hall towards the kitchen. Along the way, a human walked past like he lived here.

"Hi." The human said.

"Hi." Sonic replied. It took a moment for Sonic to register what had happened. Once his head was on straight, Sonic ran back to his room and shook Shadow awake, shouting. "Shadow! Get up! We have a major problem!"

"God, shut up." Shadow moaned; his head equally painful. He sat up holding his head. "Man, I haven't felt this terrible since I got drunk in Rio. The next morning was kind of strange though."

"What'd ya mean?" Sonic asked.

"I woke up in a hotel room with Kumori and – OH MY GOD!" Shadow suddenly yelled.

"I'm not even going to ask." Sonic said with a shudder. "Look, there's this..."

"OH MY GOD!" Shadow cut in.

"Can you shut up for...?"

"OH MY GOD!"

"Shut up!" Sonic exclaimed; slapping his hand over Shadow's mouth. "There's someone in here and I have no idea who he is."

"Then why don't you hit the 'intruder alarm' button?" Shadow question; pointing to the red button on the wall.

"I didn't know we had that." Sonic said stupidly.

Shadow rolled his eyes and ran over to the button. The human that had been casually sitting in the living jumped up when the alarm blared through the base. Out of nowhere, Sonic flies by using his homing attack. Surprisingly, the human dropped down to the floor and kicks upward to force Sonic back a bit.

"Did expect that." Sonic grinned. "I think I like this guy."

"So you're Sonic, huh?" The human said excitingly. "I've been waiting for this."

The human moved into a fight position and Sonic did the same. At the moment, Sonic was able to get a better look at the intruder. He was a sixteen year-old boy with flaming red hair. He wore a purple Asian gi, black fingerless gloves, a red sash, and black shoes with red lines. The human waved his hand to challenge Sonic when suddenly.

"I got him!" Storm screamed.

"Don't let him get away!" Knuckles yelled.

The human looked back to find the muscle of the team make a dive at him. The boy swiftly landed on his hands and shot his feet upwards. They made contact with Knuckles and Storm's chins and shoved them to the wall. While still on his hands, the human flipped around to avoid five bright yellow arrows before jumping back to his feet.

"Watch where you're aiming those thing!" The human complained. "You could really hurt someone."

"Then I promise I won't miss next time." Shadow said as he dropped from the ceiling suddenly. But the boy grabbed him by the wrist and swung him around towards the wall. Shadow bounced off and onto the ground. "How can he move like that?"

"Hey, shad, got any suggestions?" Sonic asked.

"Like how to kick his butt?" Storm asked; pulling his beak from out of the wall.

"I know a way." The boys said. "How bout lunch?"

"Huh?" All the heroes said simultaneously.

"Yeah, I haven't eaten anything since yesterday." The boy said sheepishly. "Got anything left?"

Greatly confused at the intruder's sudden change in attitude, the group led the boy into the kitchen. Thankfully, Amy still had some food left over after yesterday's awkward experience. The boy literally inhaled everything on the table; nearly taking Storm's hand went he tried to grab a roll.

"Uh...if you are gonna finish anything soon." Shadow started up. "Who are you?"

"Me?" The boy said; swallowing five pounds of food. "The names Rai."

"Ok _Rai_, how did you get here anyway?" Knuckles asked suspiciously.

"Actually, that was the easy part." Rai said; drinking three gallons of soda. "All I really did was brake into the G.U.N. command center, hack into their secret files, locate you, disable your security system, and now I'm eating your food."

"That was easy?" Storm questioned; his mouth in gape

"It was a good hour." Rai muttered.

"Just answer one more question." Shadow said sternly. "Why are you here in the first place?"

"I'm here for Sonic." Rai said.

"I knew it!" Knuckles exclaimed; jumping out of his chair and grabbing Rai by the scruff of his gi. "He's working for Eggman or the Dark Rulers!"

"No! I swear I'm not!" Rai shouted instinctively.

"Then why would you want Sonic?" Knuckles asked; holding his spiked fist to Rai's face. "And you better think of a good excuse."

"It's a well know fact that Sonic arch-enemy is Eggman, right?" Rai asked. Everyone nodded. "I was hoping that if I find Sonic, he would lead me straight to Eggman."

"Why would you go after Eggman?" Storm asked. "Does he owe you money or something?"

"Not exactly." Rai said. "You see it – would you mind letting me go?"

Knuckles was hesitant for a moment, but let Rai go regardless with a loud 'Hmph!'

"Thank you." Rai said, mending his neckline. "You see, when I was a year old, Eggman used me for an experiment."

"That's low, even for Eggman." Sonic muttered.

"Believe me, it wasn't Eggman's idea." Rai suddenly said defensively. "It was the idea of his partner, Naga."

"Naga?" Shadow repeated. "As in Naga the Snake?"

"You know him, Shadow?" Knuckles asked.

"When I was working for Eggman, I read some of his old files. Naga was once considered a genius at genetic experimentation." Shadow explained. "He was regarded as the most brilliant scientist of his time until he was requested for arrest."

"Why? What'd he do?" Storm asked.

"No one knows for sure, but all that was known was that he committed a crime against Queen Aleena." Shadow continued.

"_Did something happen to my mom?" _Sonic asked mentally; feeling worried.

"So what happened to him?" Storm asked.

"That's the thing." Shadow said. "Fifteen years ago, he just dropped from sight and no one has seen him since."

"Naga performed an experiment on me with Eggman's help." Rai stated. "They had plans to create the very first super human and they were successful. They created me."

"You?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah. The experiment made me faster, stronger, and more agile then any normal human." Rai explained.

"You have proven to be difficult to catch." Shadow admitted bitterly.

"So you want to find Eggman for revenge?" Sonic asked.

"Not exactly." Rai said. "You see, Eggman is actually..." Suddenly, the alarm went off. "Well, so much for that."

A video screen popped out of the wall and the appeared on screen.

"Heroes, we have a situation." The commander said.

"When do we not?" Knuckles said sarcastically.

"It appears that the chaos clone, Violet, is rampaging across Central City with an army of black clones." The commander informed. "We need you to go and take care of them."

"We're on it!" Shadow proclaimed. "Heroes, let's move!"

The four quickly jumped out of their seat and ran out of the base, leaving Rai with the commander. It was only then the commander finally took notice of Rai's presence.

"Hey, I know you." The commander said. "Aren't you the boy who...?"

"Well, would you look at the time?" Rai said nervously; pointing to his imaginary watch. "Sorry, but I got to go."

And with that, Rai raced off after the heroes.

* * *

Central City, still somehow recovering from the Black Arms invasion and the destruction caused by the ARK, was under serious attack. Violet and a large number of Black Clones stampeded across the city streets in a military march. And with a swing of her claw, the clones scattered. Most of them climbed along the reforming buildings, attempting to rip out the supporting structure. Others were cluttered along the streets, attempting to capture as many prisoners as possible. 

"Ah, what a wonderful day." Violet said abnormally lighthearted. "I can't believe Eggman actually gave us a day off. The chaos, the destruction, nothing could ruin today." Suddenly, a number of yellow arrows destroyed the clones on the buildings. Violet groaned. "Except for that."

Just down the street, The four heroes stood lined up and Rai bringing up the rear.

"Cool. Evil clones." Rai said.

"No, not cool." Shadow said. "Listen, just stay back and stay out of trouble.

"Aw, you're no fun." Rai pouted.

"Hey, losers, what took you so long?" Violet mocked.

"Storm wanted to stop for sandwiches." Knuckles said.

"Speaking of which, I'm hungry." Storm said and ran off.

"Uh...why is he a part of your team?" Violet asked.

"He's big." Sonic said lazily.

"Oh, that makes sense." Violet said. "Anyway, Black Clones, attack!"

The Black clones reacted to their orders and pounced. Rai stepped back as Sonic curled into his ball form and created an upwards spin dash. His spin dash sliced across two clone's chest before uncurling in midair. A black clone back on the ground stretched its arm out, grabbed Sonic's ankle, and forced him back to the ground, landing on his face.

"Yeah, that hurt." Sonic's muffled voice said.

Sonic swung around as the clone holding him moved in for the kill. He would have attempted to hit it, but three more clones came along and grabbed the rest of his limbs. A fifth clone moved in close; shifting its claw into the form of a blade. Just as the clones raise its blade, Sonic stretched his open hand up as far as possible to gather an amount of blue chaos, performing his signature technique.

"SONIC WIND!" Sonic yelled.

The blue sphere broke into several razor blades that sliced all the clones clean. Meanwhile, Knuckles was pile-driving one black clone into the ground and back fists another that snuck up behind him. But unknown to him, one of the clones learned to dissolve and form a puddle below him. The clones reformed and gave a strong upper cut to his chin. Meanwhile, Storm was sitting at a sandwich shop with a large sub presented to him.

"Yay! Food!" Storm cheered. Suddenly, Knuckles fell through the roof and squashed his sandwich. "NOOOOOOOOOOO! Why couldn't have been me?!" He grabbed Knuckles by his neck. "You! You did this to him!"

"It wasn't me!" Knuckles panicked. "It was them! They did it!" He motioned his hand towards the black clones, whom had just walked into the shop.

"REVENGE!!!" Storm screamed.

At the sight of the enraged, muscle-bound Albatross, the clones scurried for their lives. Meanwhile, Shadow was glowing red with chaos energy and relinquished his most powerful attack.

"CHAOS BLAST!!!"

A nova of red erupted from Shadow body and exploded onto the city streets. The entire black clone army that surrounded him was obliterated and Rai was clutching the ground as to make sure he didn't fly off. But Violet remained unmoving.

"So, you've got some impressive moves." Violet complimented as the eruption faded away. "But you're not the only one with skills."

Violet slapped her claws together and separated them slightly. An orb of purple chaos energy began to form and expand until it was too big to hold between her claws. A sudden ripping sound emerged from Violet. The colored clone shot her head up as the lower part of her face ripped open into the form of a mouth. Violet placed the orb to her mouth and forcefully shoved it down her throat.

"I've always wondered how they ate." Sonic said as he, Knuckles, and Storm rejoined their leader.

Violet fell down to her hands and knees as she gave a violent lurch forward. The orb inside her was begging for release and succeeded when Violet opened her mouth. The orb shot out like a cannon, incinerating the street and everything near it. Shadow swiftly grabbed his friends and called out.

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

In a flash of light, the anthros were pulled safely out of harms way when they reappeared atop one of the buildings.

"Whoa that was close." Sonic said.

"Hey! What about me?!"

The heroes looked down and remembered they forgot Rai, who was in the path of the attack.

"Rai!" Sonic yelled.

"Too late!" Shadow exclaimed

The blast exploded as it landed its target. The aftershock of the impact shook the entire city, collapsing a few unstable structures. When the blast died down, all that was left was a cloud of dust and Violet looking proud at herself. Her mouth was gone, but the grinning expression was present when she turned to the heroes' direction.

"Who's next?" Violet chuckled.

They growled and clenched their fists. They may have only just known Rai, but even he didn't deserve what she did. For a moment, a dark aura presented itself around Sonic. Sonic's eyes disappeared for a moment when suddenly...

"Hey, watch it! You could hurt someone!"

Sonic returned to his normal state. He was sure that was Rai's voice. Heroes and villains alike searched up and down the streets for the source. Sure enough everyone's eyes were draw to the dust cloud and up. Rai was alive and seemingly unharmed. the only strange thing was...

"He's flying?" Sonic questioned; utterly surprised.

"He's flying?" Violet said; equally surprised.

It was true. No one knew how, but Rai was actually hovering twenty feet above the ground. Rai smirked at the shocked expression before floating down to land several yards away in front of Violet.

"Surprised? I thought you would." Rai grinned widely. "I was too when I found out. But it's not over yet. I have one more trick up my sleeve." Rai brought his hands together and draw them to his side chanting "KA-ME-HA-ME!" a sphere of blue energy formed from between his hands. "HA!"

Rai thrust his palms forward to expel a mass of blue energy. Violet could not move as she was still dumbstruck by Rai's sudden abilities. Rai's attack passed through Violet's chest, creating a large gaping hole. The attack faded and Rai returned to his normal stance. Violet tried to restore the hole in her chest, but she was too weak to even shift her body.

"Y-you win thi-is r-round." Violet said shakily." But, t-there's always...next time."

Violet dissolved into a puddle and escaped through the sewer drains. Later that day, the heroes regrouped back at the entrance of their base. After a long discussion, the heroes decided to make Rai an official member of the team. But Rai turned them down, saying he has something else to do. Rai flipped a small backpack, which was provided to him by the heroes, over his shoulder and gave one last look at his new friends.

You sure you don't want to join?" Storm asked.

"Yeah, we could use someone like you." Sonic said.

"Sorry, but I need to do something before I can join you." Rai said. He looked his shoulder and smiled. "But if you need someone to save your butts, I'll be there."

"Wise guy." Knuckles muttered.

"We have also placed a communicator inside your bag." Shadow informed. "If we see Eggman, we'll let you know."

"Thanks." Rai smiled.

Rai held out his hand to shake and Sonic took it. But as they shook hands, Rai noticed something no one else did. Two small holes on the side of Sonic's neck that were nearly invisible. Rai was hesitant to let go of Sonic, but did reluctantly did so. The strange boy took off to the sky, but not before giving one last glance at Sonic.

"_So he's been marked, too." _Rai thought; feeling the two holes on his own neck. _"Naga...Wherever you are, I'll find you."

* * *

_

The scene changes to a faraway mountain range. Deep inside the mountain, a base was hidden inside with Naga the Snake at the center. Naga was working on a new experiment provided to him by Orochimaru when a slight hissing sound reached him. He turned towards the door as it cracked open to reveal a cobra slithering inside. The cobra slithered up to Naga's feet before wrapping itself around his body.

"What newsss do you bring me, Nagini?" Naga asked the snake.

"هناك مشكلة" The snake spoke in a female voice. It sounded only like hissing, but to Naga, it was plain English.

"Trouble? What trouble?" Naga asked.

"الطفل قد عاد" Nagini spoke in her tongue. "واخشي انه قد يكون خطرا"

"Nagini, there isss nothing to worry about." Naga said reassuringly. "So the boy hasss returned. He's ssstill too young to defeat me. But there may be a problem." Naga's expression deepened. "If he tellsss Sonic the truth, it could ruin my new exxxperiment."

"ماذا تفعلون" Nagini asked.

"That is an excellent idea." Naga chuckled. "Kai! I require your asssistanccce!"

The door opened wider as Naga's oldest servant, Kai, walked in. Kai had changed considerably since the murder of Raine's parents. Kai was sixteen and three feet taller. His blue hair reached down his back and restrained by two metal rings. He wore violet sleeveless shirt with a black jacket, black slacks, grey shoes and gloves, and a red scarf. The creepy thing was that the scarf was dyed by the blood of all the people he killed. He, like Sonic and Rai, had two holes in the side of his neck. He walked up to Naga and kneeled before him.

"What is it, my lord?" Kai said humbly.

"Kai, you are my mossst valuable servant." Naga hissed. "And for that, I have a misssion for you."

"Anything, my lord." Kai said.

"Keep and eye on Rai." Naga commanded. "If he triesss anything funny, kill him."

"As you wish, my lord." Kai said.

* * *

The scene changes to the Egg-Carrier III, which floated high above the Atlantic. Eggman and Mecha were in the control room when Violet stumbled in, too weak to stand. 

"Violet, what happened to you?" Eggman asked worrisome.

"I...Just barely...survived...a battle." Violet panted.

"Did the heroes do this?" Mecha asked.

No. Someone...named Rai." Violet informed.

Eggman seemed to twitch at the name, but no one noticed.

"Mecha, take her to the rejuvenation chamber.

Mecha nodded and picked up his weakened comrade. When they exited the room, Eggman turned to face out the window. Something was on his mind. Something joyful and scared at the same time.

"_Rai...you're still alive."_

_

* * *

_**A new face brings a new friend. What does Rai know about Naga and Sonic? And what does Eggman know about Rai? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes.**

**Please, read and review.**


	32. A Nack for Trouble

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: Tomo belongs to Kiba Sniper.

Chapter Thirty-Two: A Nack for Trouble

The scene opens up to a little town called Night Babylon, one of the most glamerous cities in the world. Most of the city was filled with clubs and casinos that rivaled Casinopolis. But hidden beyond the lights was a small pub where only the lowest, most heinous creatures visit. Visitors were either drunk, gambling, or killing each other, like always. But when the door opens, everyone stops. Metal Sonic and Metal Knuckles entered and closed the door behind them. Everyone was staring at them as they crossed they room towards the bar.

"What do you want?" The bartender said rudely.

"We're looking for someone." Metal said.

"Yeah, what's it to me."

"I think it would be wise to answer him." Metal Knuckles said; hooking the man's shirt with his spikes. "Otherwise, you'll be having an unfortunate accident."

"Try me."

The next moment, the bartender went flying across the room and straight out the window into the street. The gangs in the bar didn't take to kind to that and stepped up out of their seats. By just one look from Metal sent shivers down their spines, forcing them back to their seats. Metal turned to announce to the crowd.

"Listen up, you scum!" Metal said. "I'm looking for someone called...uh." Metal turned to his partner. "Who is it, again?"

"We're looking for Fang the Sniper!" Metal Knuckles said.

The tavern was hushed. Nobody made a move or sound, fearing it would be the last thing they did. Suddenly, they heard a noise: A coin being tossed. The metal duo looked down the bar towards the source of the noise. A purple weasel wear brown gloves with irons plates, brown belt and boots, and a brown western hat crowned at the top of his head. The weasel was grinning wickedly, tossing the coin up and down, as Metal came closer.

"Are you Fang the Sniper?" Metal asked.

"That's my alias." He said. "My real name's Nack the Weasel."

"That's nice." Metal sighed. "The only reason I'm hear is because you're considered the sharpest shooter in the world, you've never missed a shot. But my question is, is that true?"

Nack's grin spread wider. He flicked his thumb, sending the coin into the air. In that split second, Nack pulled a gun from his belt and shot at the coin without looking. Metal held out his hand and caught the coin as it came down.

"Impressive." Metal said; gazing through the new hole in the coin. "You clearly live up to your reputation."

"So, what do you want?" Nack asked.

"We need you're skills to kill a certain thorn in our side." Metal said.

"All right, but it'll cost ya." Nack smirked.

Metal Knuckles placed a small bag on the bar; opening it to reveal a small fortune of jewels, and said. "Will this be enough?"

"Oh yeah." Nack's eyes gleamed greedily. "So who's the poor sucker anyway?"

"I believe you've heard of him." Metal said as he placed a photo on the bar. "His name is Sonic the Hedgehog."

"Oh yeah, I remember him." Nack said grumpily.

"You know him?" Metal Knuckles asked.

"I had a run-in with him a few times." Nack said; glaring at the photo. "Looks like it's time for some payback."

* * *

It was a bright and sunny day at Station Square. It was such a great day, that our favorite true blue hero decided to spend the day in the park. He was joined by Tails, who had returned after being lost in the jungle for a week. The faithful brothers spent most of their day just lying in the grass, watching the clouds pass by.

"Man, this is something." Sonic said; unusually serene. "No Eggman, No Nazo. This is the life."

"And to think, this could happen everyday when beat them." Tails said; equally calm.

"Don't get your hopes up, pal." Sonic said as he turned to the fox. "We have a long way to go before we beat Nazo."

But unknown to them, Nack was standing on a tall mountain that conveniently happened to be in the park. He held a sniper rifle over his shoulder and aimed down below. Right between Sonic's eyes.

"This is going to be the easiest score I've ever made." Nack sniggered. "Goodbye, rat."

Nack pressed his finger against the trigger, only an inch from firing, when suddenly...

"Hey, Sonic!"

Nack's finger shot away from the trigger when some interception came in. Sonic and Tails shot up when the Babylon Rogues zoomed in circles around them on their Extreme Gear. They stopped in front of the blue blur and jumped off their Gear. Nack had trouble locking on to Sonic because Jet was in the way.

"Hey, Jet, whatcha up to?" Sonic asked.

"I haven't had a race in a long time and I think I'm getting rusty." Jet said. Nack moved sideways to get a better shot, but Wave was in the way. "How about a little one on one?"

"You're on!" Sonic exclaimed. Nack moved over again, but Storm was in the way. "Ready to get your feathers blown off?"

"No a chance." Jet said. "Three laps around the park. First one to cross the finish line wins."

Nack moved over a third time and now had a clear view of Sonic, but something didn't feel right. He tapped the ground with his feet, but he felt nothing. He looked down to see that he had absent-mindedly walked off the mountain. Nack tumbled down the mountainside screaming, losing his gun on the way down. Lucky enough, a rock ramp on the side of mountain curved away from the hard ground and into the nearby lake.

"Lucky this lake broke my fall." Nack said.

"Hey, did you hear?" Tails said as he held up a newspaper. "The mayor decided to put piranhas in the lake."

"That's stupid." Wave said.

"Piranhas?" Nack questioned meekly.

Nack felt a sudden snapping feeling in his lower regions. It didn't take long to realize what it was. Nack jumped out of the water with the piranhas still snapping at him and shot clear across the lake.

"Did you see that?" Storm asked; pointing at Nack.

"See what?" Wave asked; not seeing Nack.

"Never mind." Storm said.

"Grr. This is going to be harder then I thought." Nack said as he pulled himself to land. He felt something snap at his tails and looked back to find one piranha biting him. He slapped it back to the water. "Time for Plan B."

Sonic and Tails were walking back from their race; Tails was carrying the Blue Star. Sonic held his head down in shame. Sonic and Jet raced across the park three times and all through the race, it looked like Sonic would win. But then Jet came out of nowhere and won at the last second. The emerald hawk would be bragging about that for weeks.

"Cheer up, Sonic." Tails said soothingly. "It was very close."

"But Jet still won." Sonic grumbled.

"Hey, he may be fast on Gear, but you could still outrun him." Tails said.

"Yeah, you're right." Sonic said with new confidence. "His feet are as fast as his brain."

They got a good laugh from that. Meanwhile, Nack was hiding in one of the higher trees and looking through a pair of binoculars to keep track of Sonic.

"Gotcha now." Nack whispered.

Nack reached into his belt and pulled out a grenade. He pulled the safety pin and reeled his arm back. But suddenly, a new interruption showed up. A familiar red hover car flew up next Sonic and landed down on the ground. Sonic looked over to the driver's seat to find...

"Shadow?"

"Hey, Sonic, remember this?" Shadow asked; grinning madly.

"I don't believe it." Sonic said; half shocked, half happy. "The car!" Sonic nuzzled against the car door. "Oh, I missed you."

"Hey, hey, watch the paint." Shadow said.

"How'd you get it back?" Tails asked. "I thought the commander took it after the Arks of the Cosmos incident."

"Eh, I convinced the old man to give us another chance." Shadow said coolly.

"Shadow, if it wasn't for the fact that you're my best friend, and you're a guy, and it would be disgusting, I would kiss you." Sonic said; a little to happy for comfort.

"Keep your lips to yourself." Shadow warned. "I don't think Amy or Kumori would approve."

All of a sudden, a pair of clouds parted to send a ray of light to the car mirror. The light bounced off the mirror and glared at Nack.

"AHH, MY EYES!" Nack screamed; causing him to drop the grenade. The grenade dropped at the tree roots just as its last seconds were up. "Uh-oh."

The grenade exploded and blew the tree of its roots, which none of the heroes seemed to notice because they were still admiring Shadow's sweet ride. The tree toppled over and shot Nack out of it branches and into the lake. Nack screamed and jumped out of the lake as the piranhas started chasing him again. Nack slapped the single piranhas off his tail.

"Ok, time for Plan C!" Nack exclaimed.

Sonic, Shadow, and Tails were walking down the dirt path along the park. They would have used the car, but they weren't allowed to have motorized hovering vehicles in the park.

"Since when did they have laws like that anyway?" Sonic complained for the umpteenth time.

"The law was passed by President Martinez in 1986 when a..." Tails started to explain, but was cut off.

"He was being sarcastic." Shadow said.

But meanwhile, clear across the lake and away from the piranhas, Nack was looking through the scope of his newly ordered giant rocket launcher. Most of Nack's reputation had been flushed down the toilet, he was going to try and salvage as much of it as possible.

No way I can miss this time." Nack told himself. "You would have be an idiot to miss such an opportunity."

Back across the lake, the heroes were still conversing when Sonic flung his arms out to stop them.

"What is it, Sonic?" Tails asked cautiously.

"I think I know." Shadow smirked.

Tails was confused until Shadow pointed it out for him. Sitting in a circle of flowers was Amy along with Cream and Raine.

"What? Amy?" Tails asked.

"So, what are you going to do?" Shadow asked.

"I...I think I'm going to do it." Sonic said nervously. "I think I'm going to ask her."

"That's the spirit." Shadow patted him on the back. "Now get moving."

"Right!" Sonic shouted. A few minutes passed, but Sonic was still standing. "Am I moving yet?"

"No." Tails said. "Moving would actually require doing something."

"Gotcha." Sonic said. He finally took a step forward, but... "You know, she looks really busy. Maybe I should..."

"JUST DO IT!" Tails and Shadow yelled.

The two decided to give Sonic a push forward. Sonic stumbled into the flower circle and accidentally tripped on a hidden rock. The trip sent him face forward into the ground. And the embarrassing part was that he did it in front of Amy and her friends.

"Hey, Sonic, what are you doing here?" Amy asked as she wove a flower crown for Cream.

"Uh, hey, Amy." Sonic said embarrassingly as he stood up. "Listen, Amy, I want to ask you something."

"Yeah." Amy replied as she placed the crown on Cream's head.

"I was wondering...maybe...you would like to go somewhere with me." Sonic stammered a bit. "Like on a... (gulp)...date?"

"Oh, Sonic!" Amy cried.

"Gotcha!" Nack screamed.

Nack pulled the trigger and fired a heavy-duty missile. The missile came closer to its target, but missed because Amy glomped Sonic and pinned him to the ground. The missile flew into a conveniently large tree hollow and out of a hole in the tree branch. The sudden change of direction sent it soaring back at its user. The missile reached Nack and stopped inches from his face.

"Aw, damn!" Nack cursed. The missile exploded, which nobody noticed. Nack was lucky to survive with only his fur singed. "Well, at least there are no piranhas." Just then, piranhas flew out of the lake munched down on him, and flew back into the lake. "That's it! Time for Plan Q!"

"Don't you mean Plan D?" God asked.

"That's what I said." Nack said quickly. "Time for Plan D!"

Later, Tails and Shadow left Sonic alone so that he could spend the rest of the day with Amy for their date. Amy was happily cling to his arm, which Sonic did nothing to refuse. Meanwhile, Nack was in a nearby bush, watching as Sonic and Amy walked past.

"When in doubt, fall back to ol' reliable." Nack said to himself as he pulled out his favorite gun.

Nack took aim at the back of Sonic's head. But as usual, someone was there to interrupt. This time it was Team Virtex with Recter in the lead.

"Uh-oh." Sonic mumbled; noticing Recter's glare. "I knew this was too good to be true."

"Hello, Sonic." Recter said in his usual stern manner. "I hear that you are on a date with my little sister."

"How did you know?" Amy asked.

"Raine told us." Howl explained.

"Sorry." Raine apologized.

"Amy, you know how I feel about you with boys." Recter said. "Especially with Sonic."

"Please, big brother." Amy begged cutely. "This is the first time Sonic has ever asked me out. Please don't ruin this."

Recter was still glaring at Sonic. But when his gaze fell upon his sister, something in his heart caused his expression to soften.

"Fine." Recter sighed.

"You mean it?" Sonic asked, hoping this wasn't a dream.

"Yeah, I guess." Recter said; picking up a small rock. "But if you go to far, I promise you won't live to see tomorrow."

Recter threw the rock past Sonic's face, barely missing it by a centimeter, but leaving a small cut. Unsurprisingly, the rock was headed straight for Nack. The rock corked his gun. With the pressure already building inside, the gun blew up in his face, turning it into a blacked ash. Nack waved his hands in defeat and jumped into the lake to let the piranhas eat him.

"This sucks." Nack said.

The day had turned to night and Sonic's a date was over. Sonic found Shadow and Tails not to far away and decided to join them as they left the park.

"Man, this has got to be the greatest day of my life." Sonic said joyously. "I race Jet, I see Shadow's car again, and I got to go on a date with Amy. To tell you the truth, that was the best part."

"How sore do you think Recter will be when he finds out?" Shadow questioned.

"Actually, me and Amy ran into him earlier." Sonic informed. "I think he was drunk because he actually approved of our date."

"I think he's actually starting to like you." Tails said. "But just to be safe, you should probably go into hiding for a while."

"The important thing is, this was the best day ever." Sonic said. "And nothing can ruin it."

Just then, Nack jumped out a bush into the heroes path. He didn't look too happy.

"That's it!" Nack yelled. "I have tried too kill you over and over again all day. It's driving me nut." Nack was on the brink of ripping out his own fur. "Well not anymore! I quit! You hear me? Quit!"

"That's nice." Sonic said; his expression was one of confusion. "But...who are you?"

"He doesn't even remember me!" Nack cried and ran away.

"That was weird." Tails said.

"Who wants to go for a ride in my car?" Shadow asked.

"I call shotgun!" Tails exclaimed.

"Hey, no fair!" Sonic complained.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Egg-Carrier III. Eggman, Metal, and the entire crew were watching the entire embarrassing expedition of Nack's day. Metal slapped his forehead with his claw and groaned.

"Who's idea was it to hire him in the first place?" Metal asked.

"Would you look at the time?" Metal Knuckles said; gazing at his imaginary watch. "I better go."

And with that, he left the room.

"Remind me to dismantle him later." Metal told Metal Espio.

* * *

The scene changes back to Night Babylon. Nack was trudging down the dark alley where the pub was located.

"After that experience, I need a drink." Nack said.

But as Nack reached for the door, a shuriken stopped him. Nack looked up and down the alley, but couldn't find a single being who would throw it. His gaze then slowly drifted up the alley wall. To his surprise, he saw a female chameleon he had never seen before actually standing on the wall with a kunai held out.

"Who are you?" Nack questioned.

"You won't live long enough to find out." Tomo stated.

Tomo reeled back her arm to throw the kunai, but at the split second she did, Nack pulled out a second pistol and shot at her. Tomo was caught off guard and fell into the trash cans below her, clutching her legs, which was bleeding. Tomo tried to stand, but Nack already had his pistol to her forehead. But instead of cowering as Nack had expected, Tomo was laughing.

"What's so funny?" Nack growled.

"They were right. You are the sharpest shooter in the world." Tomo chuckled.

"That's why you attacked me?" Nack questioned.

"Yeah, like a sort of test." Tomo said; cringing slightly when she ripped the bullet out.

"Test?" Nack repeated.

"And you passed." Tomo smiled. She grabbed his hand and shook it. "Let me be the first to welcome you to the Dark Rulers."

Meanwhile, Nazo and Black Doom were watching from the roof of the building.

"You can't actually be willing to accept him?" Black Doom said befuddled.

"Yes, I do." Nazo said coolly.

"But you saw him." Black Doom said. "He's a bumbling idiot."

"That may be true, but he will become an important factor in the future." Nazo explained.

"And how do you predict that?" Black Doom asked.

Nazo made no effort to reply. The demon hedgehog's eyes stared intently upon Nack and Tomo. He was sure Nack was shuddering slightly as if his gaze had pieced his skin. Nack didn't know it, but his fate had already been decided.

**

* * *

---20 Years Later---**

Somewhere on a lone cliffside, two figures were standing at the edge; the wind blowing against their cloaks. One of the figures was Mephiles, who now donned a long black coat and black gloves. On the back of the coat was a white symbol shape like an upside-down heart with a cross at the top **(the nobodies symbol)**. The second figure also wore the attire and had his hood over his head. The figure seemed to be in a trance until he turned to Mephiles.

"It is done. Nazo has been informed." The figure said.

"Do you really think this will help Lord Nazo?" Mephiles asked.

"No." The figure replied. "Nothing in the universe can change Nazo's fate. I am merely making sure that the existence of the Hakumei is assured and stable."

"It's still amazes me." Mephiles said. "You are able to communicate with Lord Nazo even through time."

"You shouldn't be." The figure said. "After all...he is my father."

* * *

**The secret of Nazo's plot is revealed. Who is this man that calls Nazo his father? And who are the Hakumei? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes.**


	33. Star Struck, Part 1

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: Tomo belongs to Kiba Sniper.

Chapter Thirty-Three: Star Struck, Part 1

The scene opens to a large desert oasis city, where they are holding their annual bazaar. Crowds from different lands were coming to buy, sell, or trade anything they had. In the center of all this were none other then the Babylon Rogues, who were all wearing Arabian clothing for just theoccasion. The bazaar had stuff for everyone on the team. Jet took great pleasure in buying some valuable jewels. And by buying, I mean stealing. 

"This look's nice." Jet said, admiring the sapphire necklace he was holding. "I bet Wave would like this."

"You have very fine taste, my friend." said the shop keeper. "That is one of our more valuable finds. Took me twenty-seven years to get."

"That's nice, but what about - look, what's that!" Jet shouted suddenly, pointing to a random direction.

Sure enough, the shop keeper fell for it, giving Jet a chance to sneak away. Storm, meanwhile, was engorged himself with whatever he could reach.

"Uh...what is this?" Storm asked; pointing at a jellyfish-like creature.

"That is a rare peruvian slug-fish."said the fisherman. "Said to be one of the most poisonous fish in the world."

"I'll take ten." Storm said.

Meanwhile, Surprisingly enough, the bazaar also had special Gear parts on sale, which Wave took full advantage of. Wave was examining an engine Gear when someone placed a certain sapphire necklace around her neck.

"It suits you." Jet whispered into her ear.

"Not really my type, but I'll take it." Wave smiled. She turned around to kiss the emerald hawk for a minute. "I'd say we're done here."

"Where's Storm?" Jet asked.

"Where else? Food." Wave said.

She pointed over her should to point out Storm, who was ready to eat his ninth helping of toasted ferret.

"Yo, Storm!" Jet called. "Drop the rat so we can get out of here!"

"Right, boss!" Storm saluted.

The masculine Albatross dropped his ferret without paying for everything he ate. He jogged to his team, where Jet was called back an old friend.

"Yo, Shahra!" Jet called.

The ring on left finger glowed and Shahra the Ring Genie appeared in a flash of light.

"You bellowed, master." Shahra groaned.

"Ignoring that." Jet muttered. "I wish we were back at the base."

"Your wish is my command, o master." Shahra recited.

And with a flick of her wrist, the Babylon Rogues evaporated in the sky.

* * *

Back at the Sonic Heroes base, Jet's book, 'Jet and the Secret Rings', rattled for a moment before spitting out the three rogues from its confines, back in their original clothing. Unfortunately, they were piled up together so that Storm was on top of them.

"Seriously, we have to do something about this." Jet complained.

"First, can we get this two ton load off our back!" Wave screeched.

"What load? Where is it?" Storm asked stupidly; not realizing who they were talking about.

Jet and Wave sweat dropped. Just then, Tails ran in; looking rather eager. He was so eager in fact, that he was literally jumping off the walls.

"Great! You're back! Just in time, too!" Tails exclaimed.

"Whoa, clam down there, runt." Wave told him while trying to keep him to the ground. "Tell us what's going on before you bounce into orbit."

"Ok, you remember the emeralds that were stolen from us?" Tails asked. The Rogues nodded. "I was working on my new emerald tracker when I saw something weird. I found not one, but all three emeralds. They all suddenly appeared in Megalo Station"

"Way to go, runt!" Storm cheered.

"Don't call me that." Tails mumbled irritably.

"All right, gang. Next stop: Megalo Station." Jet proclaimed.

* * *

Meanwhile, the heroes weren't the only ones who knew about the emeralds sudden reappearance. In the dreary dimension of the Dark Ruler's castle, Nazo sat calmly upon his throne, gazing longingly at transformed chess board. His gaze mostly fell upon the series of islands. But of course, these Islands were in another dimension, making it rather difficult for Nazo to travel.

"_They Sol Emerlds are there. Mephiles assured me of thiswith Blaze's memories." _Nazo thought. _"But how do I reach them. If I figure out how Blaze came to this dimension, maybe I can get back the same way."_

But as Nazo continued to ponder, a cloud of black smoke emerged from the floor and shifted into the form of Erazor.

"You called, my lord." Erazor bowed.

"The three chaos emeralds that have been missing have suddenly reappeared." Nazo informed him, not taking his eyes off the board. "I wish for you to go and investigate. Kill anyone that gets in your way."

"As you wish, my lord." Erazor smirked; vanishing in a puff of smoke.

* * *

Megalo Station; easily considered the most advanced city in the world, even without Meteor Tech. Jet could remember how it was this city where the search for the Arks of the Cosmos began. It was also the first place they came to when returning to Earth. Currently, the Rogues were cruising down the air roads in the car they borrowed from Shadow. And by borrowed, I mean took without permission.

"Shadow's got a sweet ride." Jet marveled from the backseat. "How come we don't have a ride like this?"

"We did until _someone_..." Wave emphasized; turning her head to Storm. "...Decided to wreck it."

"How was I supposed to knowthere was a cliff there?" Storm asked.

"There's a reason they have guardrails on the side of the roads." Wave stated.

"So where are we going, anyway?" Jet asked.

"Megalo Tower." Wave explained. She turned down a road that led to the massive tower in the center of the city. "The runt figures if we sure the towers super computer, it could pinpoint the emeralds exact locations."

"That's an excellent idea."

"Thanks, Jet." Wave said prideful.

"I didn't say anything." Jet said.

"Storm?" Wave asked.

"Nope." Storm answered.

Just then, a blade of fire cut across the air road, burning the cars and the road in the process. But as luck would have it, Jet, Wave, and Storm pulled out there Extreme Gear and jumped out before being hit. The trio landed safely on the ground below and looked up to the former remains for the road. The smoldering remains of Shadow's car landed in front of them.

"Aw, Shadow's going to kill us." Wave muttered.

Suddenly, a ball of fire erupted from above and aimed at the flock. Jet and Wave zoomed to the side while Storm, having no idea what was happening, got hit full blast. Storm stood there stupidly; his feathers burnt to a crisp.

"Ouch." Storm moaned.

"Where did that come from?" Jet questioned as he looked back at Storm. A sudden light pair of footfalls could be heard from behind. "He's right behind me, isn't he?"

Jet shot whirled around to come face-to-face with his arch-enemy, Erazor Djinn.

"Good day, Jet the Hawk." Erazor said menacingly.

"Why am I not surprised to see you here?" Jet growled lightly.

"Jet, who is that?" Wave asked; she and Storm never actually have met Erazor Djinn before.

"His name's Erazor." Jet informed them, never taking his eyes off the evil genie.

"The evil genie dude?" Storm asked.

"I prefer evil djinn." Erazor stated. "I do not wish to be compared to weaklings like Shahra."

"What are you doing here anyway?" Jet questioned; trying to distract him long enough to reach his fans.

"That is none of your concern!" Erazor exclaimed. "Now, hand over the chaos emerald!"

"But we don't have them." Storm stated.

Wave slapped her face. Storm can be a real idiot when he needs to be.

"Then I will have to carve you to pieces until I have them." Erazor grinned deeply.

Erazor whipped out his razor blade and swung it to Jet's neck. Luckily, Jet flipped back and grabbed his Gear to block when Erazor swung a second time. Jet tried to reach for his fans, but Erazor wouldn't let up. Erazor swung left and right without taking a second to stop, forcing Jet to use his Gear as a shield. Finally, Erazor raised his blade and swung down with enough force to slice the Gear in half. Fortunately, he didn't, as Jet slid between Erazor's legs and kicked him from behind.

"That one never gets old." Jet sniggered.

Erazor propped himself up to his knees; a maddening glare visible in his eyes. A shadow loomed overhead and he looked up to find Wave; her humongous wrench propped on her shoulder.

"I spent two sleepless weeks on that Gear!" Wave shrieked shrilly. "And you scratched it! I'll kill you!"

"Is she always like this?" Erazor nervously asked Jet.

"She's very sensitive about her Gear." Jet answered.

Wave swung her wrench off her shoulder and slammed it hard to the side of Erazor's face. Erazor was sent soaring and caught in a strong vice grip by Storm. Erazor struggled for a while before he realized he could just turn to smoke. Erazor evaporated into a cloud of black smoke and reformed behind Storm. He placed his hand on the Albatross' back and produced a sudden gale of wind that toppled Storm on top of Wave.

"Get...off." Wave's muffled voiced sounded.

Erazor was laughing his heart out until...

"TIME SHOOTER!"

Erazor, not willing to be fooled twice, whipped his blade backwards to block a rocketing Jet and his fans. The two weapons clashed, locking the two kings in a stalemate.

"You have done well so far, Jet the Hawk." Erazor stated.

"I always wonder." Jet said. "Why do you always call me by my full name?"

"That's a dumb question." Wave sweat dropped.

"Listen well, Jet the Hawk." Erazor stated. "Either you surrender the chaos emeralds or I shall kill you and your friends."

"For the last time, we don't have them." Jet strained. They pushed back and landed a few feet from each other. Wave and Storm joined by Jet's side. "If we did have them, would we be looking for them ourselves?"

Erazor seemed to get Jet's point. He lowered his razor and said. "But if you don't have them and I don't...who does?"

At that moment, the walls surrounding them exploded wide open, sending rubble shooting over their heads. When the dust cleared, the clouds revealed something the Rogues thought they would never see again.

"What are those things?" Erazor asked; raising his blade in defense.

"Meteor Tech robots!" Wave exclaimed in surprise. "But I thought they were shut down permanently!"

Indeed, the surprise attackers were no other then the Meteor Tech robots created by Dr. Eggman months ago. Jet could remember all to well of their last encounter. How the robot ravaged Earth, searched for the Arks, and rebelled against their creator, all under the command of their leader: ABIS. But after a failed attempt to conjoin the Arks, the robots were shut down.

"But how are they here?" Storm asked.

"I think it would be best to leave the questions for later." Erazor suggested.

"I never thought I'd say this, but he's right." Jet said; holding his fans. "Let's show them what we've got!"

The four fighters charged forward with the weapons held high. But unfortunately, the robots clamped their claws together and exerted a wave of electricity from their bodies. The poor fools stood no chance. One by one, they all fell into a state of unconsciousness. Before he blacked out, Jet could see a faint blur of red.

* * *

"Do you think he's all right?"

"How should I know?"

"Maybe we could roast him."

"NO!"

These faint voices were starting to become clearer to Jet, especially the loud one. Finally, his eyes opened. He was nearly blinded by the sudden array of light. When his eyes became used to the light, he could understand why it was so bright. Evidently, the four had been move from Megalo Station to a new, familiar location. The walls, the floors, everything was made from shining crystal. The room they were in was filled with endless rows of technological devices. Wave and Storm were standing over him while Erazor was leaning against a computer.

"He's alive!" Storm cheered; hugging the remaining breath out of him.

"Storm, calm down. He needs to breathe." Wave stated.

"Thanks." Jet mumbled as Storm let go. "Where are we anyway?"

"You don't remember?" Wave asked. Jet shook his head.

"Babylon Garden." Erazor suddenly said. "It's hard to forget a place such as this. Isn't it, Shahra?"

All of a sudden, Jet's golden ring started to glow. For a moment, in a flash of light, Shahra had appeared before them. It was very unusual for Shahra to be outside the book. But interestingly enough, she too remembered the place.

"Babylon Garden." Shahra muttered. "It's just as I remembered it."

"You've been here before?" Storm asked.

"Of course." Wave said in an annoyed manner. "If you had paid attention last time we were here, you would have known that Erazor and Shahra were once rulers of Arabia, three-thousand years ago." Wave boasted over her intelligence. "It was Jet's royal ancestor, Aeriala, who sealed them in the book."

"So, the genies dude's a king?" Storm summed up.

"Yes...just like Jet is the new king of Babylon." Wave explained.

"You're a king, boss!" Storm exclaimed.

"Wave told us this ages ago, Storm." Jet sighed.

"That was a great use of our time." Erazor said sarcastically. "Thanks for the history lesson, filthy pigion."

"What was that!" Wave screeched; raising her wretch threateningly.

"C-calm down, Wave!" Storm requested nervously while trying to hold her back.

"There's one thing I don't get." Jet said; catching everyone's attention. "Last time we saw Babylon Garden, it should have been returning to our home planet. So why is it still here?"

"I can answer that."

The five turned their heads to the direction of the voice. A blockade of Meteor Tech robots stood before them. But before the warriors could draw their weapons, they suddenly parted. The apparent leader walked slowly down the row to reveal himself to the group. At first, they thought it was Metal, but that idea left when they could fully see the evil leaders face.

"Omega?" Jet questioned.

The leader was in fact the missing E-123 Omega. Floating above his head were the white, green, and purple emeralds.

"Hey, Omega, where have been?" Storm asked happily. "We've been looking everywhere for you!"

"I've been busy." Omega stated.

"Are those the chaos emeralds?" Erazor questioned; his eyes darting back and forth between emeralds.

"Maybe." Omega stated simply.

"Omega, what are you doing here?" Wave asked out of concern. "We thought you were lost. You could have been damaged or worse. Why didn't you tell us that you were ok?"

"Like I said, I've been busy." Omega repeated.

"So uh...who're your friends?" Jet asked suspiciously; gazing at the robots behind him.

"These..." Omega's arms stretched outwards. "...are my children. My followers. They have assisted me greatly with a little project I have been planning to revive. You too have proved to be a great asset."

"Project?" Shahra asked.

"What do you mean?" Wave asked.

"It was I who stole the chaos emeralds from the storage." Omega explained. "I replaced them with the fake emeralds. I used their power to recall the Wings of the Heavens back to Earth. I restored the robot army to their proper order."

"But why?" Storm asked.

"For one reason: revenge." Omega stated.

"Revenge?" Jet repeated.

"After you defeated me the first time, Jet the Hawk, I was rebuilt by Eggman." Omega explained carefully. "The doctor knew the wisdom I received from the Arks of the Cosmos would benefit him greatly. But when he rebuilt me, all my memories were wiped clean. It was only when Metal Sonic used his technique to attack my core that my memories were restored."

"Ok...now I more confused the usual." Storm said, scratching his head.

"Boy, there's a surprise." Erazor said sarcastically.

"Wait, you said you gained wisdom from the Ark of the Cosmos." Wave said in realization. "Does that mean..."

"That's right, Wave." Omega cut her off. "You don't miss a beat."

"What is it, Wave?" Jet asked.

"It's him, Jet!" Wave said in a panic. "The same robot you and Sonic defeated last time we were here! It's ABIS!"

A wave of cold air withered down Jet's spine, causing him to shake rigidly. ABIS, the legendary monster of the stars, the creator of black holes,was actually Omega. ABIS was already powerful in his previous body, but now he inhabitant Omega's, which was bad in itself.

"But there's one thing I would like to know." Erazor said suddenly. "Why did you steal the emeralds in the first place?"

"With their powers, I was able to use the remaining fragments to create...these."

Omega lifted his arms to the arm. Following his movements, five circular objects rose above his head. Each of them was made of stone and had a different pattern and color: red, blue, green, purple, and yellow. Everyone, even Shahra, who knew the least of what was going on, instantly recognized them.

"The Arks of the Cosmos." Jet whispered.

The Arks, which were thought to have been destroyed, were floating in a circle above Omega and the emeralds. Jet still had nightmares about the Arks and how they used his rage to transform him into Shadow Jet.

"B-b-but boss destroyed them." Storm stuttered.

"Not entirely." Omega stated. "The fragments were small, but they were enough for the emerald to restore." The Arks lowered around Omega's body and began to circle him rapidly. "Witness once more, the most powerful force in the universe!"

The Ark glew in their own correspondent color and plunged themselves into Omega's thick armor. They forced themselves down to his core and slowly started to morph. Omega grew three time his normal height, his arms were shrunken, but his leg became larger and thicker. He grew a jaw with dagger teeth, a lashing red tail, and one of his eyes disappeared to give it a cyclops appearance. In other words, he looked like a red, metal T-rex with one glaring, red eye.

"That is definitely not good." Jet stated.

"More power is restored!" Omega roared in a booming voice. "Once more...I have truly become...ABIS!"

* * *

**Robots and Genies and Arks, oh my. With ABIS' power restored, can Jet pull another aceup his sleeve? Or has ABIS finally succeeded this time? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes.**

**Please, read and review.**


	34. Star Struck, Part 2

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: Tomo belongs to Kiba Sniper.

Chapter Thirty-Four: Star Struck, Part 2

Great...what else can go wrong?" Jet groaned.

Things were getting seriously out of control. Here they were, on the ancient Babylon Garden, dealing with another major worldly crisis. The Arks of the Cosmos were restored to power and ABIS was resurrected through Omega's body. Now it was three birds and two genies up against an army of robots and a two-ton giant, mechanical tyrannosaurus. Not very good odds, are they?

"This was inevitable, Jet the Hawk." ABIS stated. "Upon my defeat, you should have realized I would come back for revenge."

"I would, if I didn't think you were still dead." Jet shrugged. "I pretty must figured you were in the scrapheap."

"Jet, this is not the time to make fun of the giant killer dinosaur." Wave strained through her beak; eying ABIS' snarling maw.

"So, you think you would beat me again?" ABIS asked amusingly.

"No problem!" Storm exclaimed excitingly. "Boss will beat your metal butt all over the pavement!"

"Storm!" Wave shriek shrilly.

"Very well, but this place is too crowded." ABIS said; his head motioning up and down the corridor. "I shall use the Arks reality altering capabilities to take us elsewhere."

ABIS whipped his tail and stomped his giant foot down hard on the floor. The Arks in ABIS' chest began to glow and the background swirled out of place and rearranged itself into an alternate plain. Where the crystal room once stood now lies a rocky desert terrain; the sky as black as coal and the air as thick as smog. The Babylonians could hardly breathe until Shahra cast a spell over them. Erazor was completely unaffected. ABIS stomped forward; commanding his soldiers to stand back to allow him to fight.

"Well then, shall we begin?" ABIS growled menacingly.

"Bring it on!" Storm accepted.

Not so fast!" Erazor commanded as he skidded in front of the birds. "I shall take this one."

"You're defending us?" Shahra questioned; his expression of deep confusion and happiness. "Erazor, you finally..."

"Don't misunderstand me!" Erazor shouted to cut her off. "If anyone is goingto kill Jet the Hawk, it will be me!"

"That's reassuring." Jet muttered under his breath.

Erazor, ignoring Jet's comment, surrounded himself in a circle of flames, a move he hasn't used since he first fought Jet. Erazor's body stretched to the same height of ABIS' new body. The dark genie whipped out his razor blade and charged forward. Erazor swung his blade, but ABIS caught it in his mouth. ABIS swung his tail around, but Erazor slapped it away with some difficulty. Erazor pushed himself away while throwing a well aimed fireball to his chest. But ABIS' armor just seemed to absorb it.

"A tough guy, huh?" Erazor smirked. "That can be easily mended.

Erazor raised his hands to the air to conjure a fireball the size of the sun. But before he could toss it, ABIS opened his jaw to shoot out an orb of dark matter. Erazor was thrown into the ground, returning to his normal size, forming a crater around him.

"Next?" ABIS laughed.

For a split second, it looked like Jet was up. Then suddenly, a large boulder smashed into the side of the metal dinosaurs head. The boulder was shattered on contact, but that didn't prevent the look of annoyance present of ABIS' face. He shot swiftly around to gaze upon Storm, who was lifting another boulder.

"Like that?" Storm said. "Have some more!"

Storm tossed the second boulder, but ABIS crushed it easily with his dagger teeth.

"Storm! Get down from there before you get killed!" Wave cried.

"Calm down." Storm said lazily. "What's the worst he can...?"

But Storm would never finish that sentence. Somehow, ABIS moved silently towards Storm and caged him in his jaw. ABIS shook his head left and right to rattle him and spit him out into the crater with Erazor.

"Enough stalling!" ABIS growled towards Jet. "Time to end this!"

ABIS ejected another dark matter orb from his jaw aimed at Jet. Shahra made herself scarce by diving back into her ring as Jet shot away on the Wind Rider. When his first attack missed, ABIS started firing a large quantity of dark matter orbs from his jaw. At one point, Jet swerved behind the Meteor Tech robots, causing ABIS to destroy a third of them.

"Stop moving, you filthy pigeon!" ABIS demanded.

"For the last time, I'm a _hawk_!" Jet emphasized annoyingly. "Hawk! H-A-W-..."

Jet was cut off when the Wind Rider collided with something, forcing him to jerk forward. His beak hit the dirt for a moment and then looked back. He hit ABIS' tail, which was now hanging high over his head.

"Die!" ABIS roared.

ABIS swung his tails down with extreme force. But Jet dived away before he even had the chance. But when he was in the safety, he noticed he dropped something when he landed: TheCrystal Box.

"No!" Jet screamed, but it was too late.

The tails impacted the ground. ABIS gave a wide smirk as he raised his tail to prolong his enjoyment. Jet scuttled towards the shattered remains of his family heirloom. What may have been the only chance to defeat ABIS was now gone forever.

"How does it feel to lose everything you once held dear?" ABIS chuckled heartily. "Now that your only weapon is lost, there is no need to drag this out any longer." 

ABIS opened his jaw and formed another dark matter orb. Jet, to distraught to move, did nothing as ABIS lowered his jaw to him. ABIS was ready to fire until...

"Fire in the hole!"

A loud series of bangs followed by explosions erupted up and down ABIS back. ABIS' concentration was broken, forcing him to drop his dark matter orb. ABIS whirled his head backwards; a flare of rage present in his eye. It was Wave who saved Jet. She had stolen a pack of Tails' exploding rings before leaving earlier.

"You...don't you filthy pigeons ever die?" ABIS growled.

"Funny, I was wondering the same thing!" Wave said as she shot another load of exploding rings.

But ABIS blocked them with his tail and said. "You dare to challenge me with such miniscule toys. Allow me to show you real power."

Wave repacked the rings and prepared her Tsunami Gear to shoot off at the first sign of dark matter. But it wasn't dark matter that ABIS used. To her surprise, ABIS threw his head backwards and shot it forward to eject a stream of fire. Wave, caught off guard, was hit full force by the searing flames. Jet finally snapped out of his depressant trance when Wave pained screams reached his ears. He instantly dropped the shattered crystals and ran to Wave's side.

"Wave!" Jet cried; dropping down to his knees and held her in his arms. "Wave, speak to me!"

"Jet..." Wave spoke in a hoarse voice. "Jet...I...I'm."

Her eyes closed softly and her head fell sideways.

"Wave!" Jet cried loudly. "Wave, please don't leave me."

"Gaze upon the legendary king of Babylon?" ABIS said with a low chuckle. "Now nothing more then a puddle of sorrow."

But Jet could not hear him. Jet minded was going over when had just happened in the last few minutes. Storm was crushed, Wave was burned, and even Erazor, who was his sworn enemy, had fallen to protect him. He didn't know whether they were alive or dead. All he knew was that ABIS caused it and he was going to pay.

"On your feet, vermin." ABIS commanded.

"Erazor...Storm...Wave...you hurt them." Jet said softly as he set Wave down gently. "I'll kill you...I'LL KILL YOU!"

"What is happening!" ABIS exclaimed in surprise.

He could feel his chest give a startling shake. He looked down to the five Arks, which were now pitch black and emitting a demonic aura. Jet's rage flared; his gaze sending small tremors down ABIS' steel spine. The emerald hawk's feathers changed to a darker shade; his chest fathers turned coal black, his pupils disappeared, and the iris was blood red. Jet had transformed into Shadow Jet.

"What has happened? How have you transform?" ABIS questioned.

"I would tell you, but it won't matter in a moment." Jet said in an icy cold tone.

Jet shot forward in blinding speed and smashed his fist into ABIS' chest before he could realize it. The impact created a small fracture that split the armor opened slightly to reveal the Arks. Jet flipped backwards and kicked ABIS' massive jaw and hurtled him back a few feet.

"This is improbable." ABIS stated.

"What's the matter, ABIS?" Jet spoke in the same cruel tone. "Lose your nerve somewhere?"

"I will not stand for this!" ABIS roared; quickly spinning to his feet. "My followers; defend me!"

At once, the Meteor Tech robots curled into their wheel forms and rolled forward.

"Having others fight for you." Jet sniggered. "You really are useless."

Jet landed on the ground. The moment he set foot on land, a black hole formed on the ground. The robots tried to turn away, but the gravitational pull forced them inside. Jet levitated to the air again, dismissing the black hole. He smiled at his work, but it didn't last long. One robot got away and grasped Jet from behind. But coming into contact with the dark bird erupted its circuits and exploded from the inside. Jet smiled.

"Is that all?" Jet said maliciously; his gaze never leaving ABIS' growling form. "Stand still so a can kill you quickly."

ABIS braced himself. Jet began to move forward until...

"JET STOP!"

Jet's body was suddenly paralyzed. ABIS and the surrounding area were blocked by a wall of stars. A grey eagle, a pink sparrow, and a blue hawk came into view. It was only a moment before he realized it was his ancestors: Rakis, Aeriala, and Stolen.

"Whoa, now that's what I call a makeover." Aeriala said; eyeing Jet's changed figure.

"Let...me...go." Jet strained against his invisible restraints.

"Not until you calm down." Rakis said. "You must control yourself before you get killed."

"The only one that's gonna get killed is ABIS." Jet growled.

"Not if you keep this up." Aeriala said.

"Don't ya know what happens when you use the shadow form?" Stolen asked. "The shadow form shortens your life span. Already, you've lost ten years of your life.

"Why should I believe you." Jet growled

"Why don't we ask Feron?" Aeriala said

"Who?" Jet asked.

"My partner." Rakis said. "He became greedy and used the shadow form to take over the world. He used it for a month before dying."

"Then I'll die killing ABIS." Jet stated.

"That won't be happening." Aeriala said.

"What are you talking about?" Jet asked.

"The Arks are fueled by the shadow form." Rakis explained. "You can't defeat him as long as you use it."

"Then what do I do?" Jet asked sadly.

"Just do what I told you last time." Stolen said. He moved close to Jet's ear and whispered. "Remember what you're fighting for."

* * *

Jet's eyes snapped open. He was lying on the ground, back at ABIS' altered world. Jet's had extinguished the shadow form and was back to normal. Unfortunately, that wasn't good either. As he slowly rose to his feet, ABIS tail came in out of nowhere and swatted Jet across the barren floor and skidded to a halt.

"Now who's lost his nerve?" ABIS chuckled. "You must have realized that you could never defeat me."

"No." Jet smirked. "I justdidn't want to getmy hands dirty."

"And how, may I ask, do you intend to defeat me?" ABIS asked.

"Like this. Yo, Shahra!" Jet called.

Jet's ring glowed and Shahra appeared in a flash of light.

"Yes, master?" Shahra said with a twirl.

"I have something big planned and I need your help." Jet explained.

"I will do whatever I can." Shahra said pleasingly.

"I need three wishes." Jet stated. "My first wish: restore the Babylon Crystal Box."

"Your wish I my command." Shahra recited.

Shahra twirled around and with a flick of her wrist; a cloud of sparkling dust surrounded the shattered box. When the dust cleared, the box had been properly mended. The newly restored box emits a pulse of crystal light; enveloping its master. Jet's body entire body became a crystal color and his head feathers stood up, transforming him into Shining Jet.

"Not this trick again." ABIS groaned in annoyance. "You think this form with help you any better."

"I'm not done yet." Jet said; a devious smile curved on his beak. "Shahra, my second wish: I wish the Arks of the Cosmoswere in my possesion!"

"As you wish, o master." Shahra obeyed.

She performed another twirl and flicked her wrist again. ABIS staggered slight; feeling a heavy rumble in his chest. A second later, all five Arks erupted from his chest and surrounded Jet. The surrounding Arks surrendered their powers to their new master. Jet's body changed once again; this time a full-body black with star markings. Shining Jet transformed into Galaxy Jet.

"This...this cannot be!" ABIS screamed frantically.

"This is where it ends." Jet stated.

"Not so fast." ABIS said; his panicked expression turning to one of satisfactory. "You can't kill me. If you do, you'll kill Omega as well. How could you live with yourself if you killed one of your friends?"

"That's a good point." Jet said lazily. "But I'm way ahead of you. Shahra, my final wish: I wish to separate Omega and ABIS."

"As you wish, master." Shahra said; a prideful smile on her face.

For one last time, she twirled and flicked her wrist. A sudden shudder of pain came over ABIS, causing him to stumble backwards slightly. ABIS was engulfed in a flash of light and separated into two separate beings: E-123 Omega and SCR-HD, ABIS' true form.

"Omega, nice to have you back, buddy." Jet said.

"It is good to be back, Jet." Omega said.

"No. No! This can't be happening!" SCR-HD exclaimed as he struggled to his feet. "I've had enough of this!

SCR-HD tried to attack Omega, but he was too strong and was thrown to the air by the brute. While still in midair, Jet clutched his head; suspending him in the air.

"You can't be doing this." SCR-HD stated.

"Actually, I can." Jet said; tossing him in the air. "Later."

Jet held his hand forward and clamped it shut. At this motion, a black hole formed around SCR-HD, crushing him into dust. With SCR-HD gone, Babylon Garden returned to its normal state. Jet landed and also returned to normal.

"Finally, this nightmare is over." Jet said, falling backwards onto the ground.

"Jet, I am sorry for the pain I have caused." Omega apologized.

"Hey, it's no problem." Jet waved it off. "The point is your back to normal and ABIS is gone forever.

"That is good." Omega said in relief. But one thing was still bugging him. "What happened to the chaos emeralds?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot about those." Jet said.

The chaos emeralds were lying on the floor; completely forgot since the beginning of the battle. Jet jumped to his feet and trotted over. But just as he was a few feet away, Erazor came out of nowhere and blocked him off.

"I must commend you, Jet the Hawk." Erazor said; a grin plastered on his bleeding face. "Not many could pull of what you did. But now that it is over, I'll be taking those emeralds." Erazor turned to grab them when they suddenly vanished. "What is going on?"

"The emerald, they're gone." Jet gaped.

"Not just them." Everyone turned as Nazo appeared from a black hole. "All the emeralds are."

"What do you mean?" Omega asked.

"All seven emerald have just vanished." Nazo explained; clearly furious. "I don't know who did this, but they will pay."

Nazo grabbed Erazor roughly by his hair and the two disappeared into the dark vortex.

* * *

Jet and Omega worked hard to help Storm and Wave, who were lucky enough to survive the encounter, recover. After a few moments of rest, Jet and his team, this including Shahra and Omega, departed from Babylon Garden, taking once last glance at it. Each of the five held one of the five Arks, but Jet was the only one wearing one.

"So what will happened to Babylon Garden?" Storm asked.

"Without the Arks to power it, Babylon Garden will remain on Earth forever." Wave explained.

"And what will we do with the Arks of the Cosmos." Shahra asked.

"We'll do what our ancestors did and scatter them." Jet stated. He stared down his arm to gaze at the green Ark attached to his wrist. "I'll keep this oneand pass it down to my descendents so that no one will try to do what ABIS did again."

"Now that only leaves..."

Their conversation was cut when a flash of light suddenly erupted in front of them. A second later, Shadow stood before them and he looked mad.

"Hey, shad." Jet said casually.

"Where's my car?" Shadow questioned thoroughly.

"Uh...Yeah. About that..." Wave stammered.

"It blew up." Storm said straight out.

Jet and Wave slapped their foreheads. But Shadow didn't appear angry. Instead, he seemed suddenly interested in the sand he was standing on.

"Listen..." Shahra said soothingly. "...I am sure there has to besome way we could – is he turning red?"

Indeed, Shadow's fur was turning bright red. His head shot up and his eyes were also bright red. It didn't take a genius to know why.

"Uh oh." Jet muttered.

"CHAOS BLAST!"

* * *

Meanwhile, the scene changes to a desolate jungle island. Near the shores of the island, all seven chaos emerald could be found glinting in the sunlight. The glint drew the attention of a wild tiger and beckoned it from the safety of the trees. The tiger sniffed the emeralds innocently and pawed it like a cat to yarn. But with its attention to the emeralds, it failed to notice a thin coil snaking around its neck until it was lifted into the air. The tiger snarled and tried to break free, but it was pointless. Within a minute, the tiger was dead.

"Pathetic organic creature."

The tiger was thrown into the water and washed away by the waves. The killer emerged from the jungle, revealing its true identity. It was the time rogue and Eggman's loyal servant: Future Mecha Shadow. Mecha's dragon head smiled sinisterly as he loomed over the emeralds.

"It would appear that my plan has work after all." Mecha said as he picked up the red emerald. "Now that the Jewels of Time are in my possession, the Jewels of Space be a much easier task."

His eyes peered through the sparkling jewel to gaze at another island from afar. He dropped the emerald to see the island more clearly. It was a small island, slightly smaller then the one he was one. It had a dormant volcano, a small port, and a small village that lie at the foot of the volcano.

"My first destination: Southern Island."

* * *

**Lesson learned: never touch Shadow's car. How did Mecha come into possession of the chaos emeralds? And what are the Jewels of Space? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes**


	35. Venomous Hatred

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or POTC. Just the OC's

Tomo belongs to Kiba Sniper

Chapter Thirty-Five: Venomous Hatred

It was a new day at the Sonic Heroes base. While others were at breakfast, Sonic was staring himself in the mirror of the bathroom **(I had no idea they had one)**. Many would think he was putting gel in his quill, but to be honest, who wouldn't. But his eyes were focused on one thing: the two holes on his neck. Sonic tried to dab the holes with aloe, but the moment it touched, Sonic felt as if a white-hot wire had been pressed to his neck.

"OW! Ok, that didn't work." Sonic muttered.

"What are you up to this time?" Sonic looked over to see Shadow leaning against the door. "Run out of gel?"

"For the hundredth time, I don't use gel!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Could've fooled me." Shadow muttered, earning a glare from Sonic. "Seriously, What are you doing?"

"You remember the mark on my neck I told you about?" Sonic asked.

"The one you had since birth?" Shadow asked. Sonic nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"I've been trying to get rid of it for years." Sonic explained. "I tried medicine, but It only burned me. Not even Raine's medicine works. I tried covering it in bandages, but they somehow caught fire. I even tried painting my neck."

"Let me guess, it eroded seconds later." Shadow said.

"Worse. My fur turned green for a week." Sonic said. Shadow had to stifle a laugh.

"But I have to wonder how you got it." Shadow thought out loud. "That mark is not something you can be born with."

"I think..." But Sonic was cut off when the alarm sounded. Tails came running. "Yo, bro, what's up?"

"Eggman's attacking Emerald Town!" Tails exclaimed.

Upon hearing this, The hedgehogs dropped the conversation and sped off. Unknown to them. A slithery serpent crawled out of the air duct overhead, but remained hanging. The serpent's eyes remained intensley on the departing blue hedgehog's form.

"القنفذ يسير" The snake known as Nagini hissed, but no one heard. "اللورد النجا سيسعده"

* * *

The scene changes to the open waters of the Caribbean Sea. Lapping against the waters was a single sailboat with a certain man, or more specifically, a certain hedgehog. Gale the Hedgehog, The King of the Pirates, stood proudly atop the mast of the boat; his coat whipping in the wind. The setting sun glowed against his features. His trip from Prison Island had gone off perfectly except for one hitch: his ship was halfway sunk. But lucky enough, he reached an island port just as the ship fully sunk. He smiled brightly and took in a long, warming breath.

"Ah, nothing like the sweet smelling bouquet that is Tortuga." Gale said brightly.

Gale walked down a stone path and entered a loud, abundant town. Once you enter the town, you would know why. Everywhere you look you could find people on the streets or buildings either drinking, shooting, fighting, stealing, killing, and anything else you could think of. Gale walked through it like a normal day at the park; an axe barely missed his head without him knowing it. He circled around town until he met up with an old friend.

"Jack Sparrow!" Gale shouted happily.

"Gale, my furry little friend! How are you?!" Jack shouted loudly. He wobbled over to Gale, taking a swig of rum. "Off to fight more sea demons?"

"Not since Davy Jones." Gale chuckled. "Listen, I'm looking for Wrist. Have you seen him?"

"Yeah, I think he..." Jack was cut off when a random man run up to him and smashed a wine bottle over his head. He fell on his face before saying. "...He's in the bar."

"Uh, thanks." Gale said awkwardly. "I'll talk to ya later."

"I'll be here." Jack's muffled voice said.

Gale left the drunken Pirate Lord and made a beeline for the bar; avoiding death four times without knowing it. As he entered the bar, a bottle nearly smashed into his head. The inside was really not too different on then the outside except it was more crowded. He crossed the bar towards the counter when he found a red echidna sleeping on it.

"Man, I wonder if your son is this lazy." Gale said amused.

Everyone thought Knuckles was the last of the echidna's, but they were wrong. He looked the same age as Gale, had white lines on his legs, arms, and shoulders along with a deep scar on his left cheek. He wore a blue sash across his chest, red shoes similar to the ones Knuckles wore, and white gloves with three spikes protruding from his knuckles. The echidna snored loudly over the raging crowd, annoying Gale. Gale stole a bottle from a random person and dumped its contents on his face, causing him to sputter and fall over.

"Curse you for breathing, you slack jawed idiot!" The echidna roared as he stood up. His rage disappeared when he saw Gale and suddenly cheered. "Gale! You're alive!"

"Yes, I am, Wrist." Gale said proudly as he sat down. "They say no one has ever escaped Prison Island, but they don't know me. I also had the pleasure of meeting your son."

"Oh." Wrist said; slightly sad. "How is Knuckles these days."

"He's doing well, I should say." Gale smirked. "I heard in the news he was getting married to a lovely woman named Rouge."

"Lucky boy. I'm so proud of him." Wrist said. A tear traced itself down from his eyes before he wiped it away. "So what are you doing these days.

"Well, every since I escaped, I did some thinking." Gale said. "And I've decided to reform the old crew. That means I'm going to need my first mate back, Wrist."

"I don't think that's such a good idea, Gale." Wrist said solemnly. "It's because of pirating I was banished from Angel Island."

"It was your idea to pawn off the Master Emerald for rum in the first place." Gale said matter-of-factly.

"True, but it was pirating that caused you to miss thirteen years of your son's life." Wrist said. "Listen, as a friend, I feel that you should consider settling down. Go back to Aleena. She must miss you."

"I'm sure she does." Gale said; thinking longingly of the woman who became Sonic's mother. "But she's not one to settle down, despite being a queen. And neither am I."

"Gale, I..." Wrist was cut off.

"This is a challenge to ye all!" Some random pirate shouted. "Is anyone man enough to out do me in a drinking contest?!"

"I'll be right back." Gale said with a smirk. Gale got up from his seat and called. "Yo, fuzz face!"

"Oh no." Wrist groaned.

**--One Hour Later--**

Gale and Wrist walked out of the bar; Gale's face filled with victorious pride.

"How can you drink six kegs of rum and not pass out." Wrist said bewildered.

"Years of practice, my friend." Gale chuckled. He took two steps before he spoke up again. "Wrist?"

"Yes?" Wrist asked.

"Catch me." Gale said before passing out.

"I just knew this would happen." Wrist groaned with irritation.

Wrist grabbed Gale by his coat and flung him over his shoulder. Wrist carried the Pirate King across town, avoiding getting killed twenty-four times and breaking thirteen people's noses, until he reached a hotel in the more peaceful part of the island, which is not an easy accomplishment. He rented two rooms and entered one before flinging Gale on the bed.

"Gale...sometimes I worry about you." Wrist whispered; exiting the room.

For three hours, Gale wondered into blissful sleep; dream of a life he could have had with his love and son. But unknown to him, the door to his room cracked open slightly. Just then, three black cobras slithered through the crack and up Gale's bed. They lifted their heads up off the ground and bared their fangs to him. But before they could attack, Gale sudden stood on his hands and swung his feet around to stamp them to the wall, instantly killing them.

"That was close." Gale said; jumping back to his feet. "Where did they come from?" He then noticed a letter on the floor where the cobras once slithered. "What's this?"

_Greetings Gale._

_If you have survived by cobras, then I must applaud you. _

_But those were only mere servants. Meet me at the Sun Point. It's time we settled the score._

_King of Serpents, Lord Naga_

"Naga? He's still alive?!" Gale exclaimed in shock. "I don't know how he's alive, but he won't be for long." He clutched the letter and shook his fist in anger. He made his way to the door, but before he every touched it, he dropped to the floor holding his head. "AAH! Major hangover!"

After grabbing an ice pack and taking a few minutes to calm his throbbing head, he crawled past Wrist's door as to make sure he didn't hear before running off. A few minutes later, he reached Sun Point. Sun Point was actually just a gigantic sundial in the center of the island. The floor was twenty feet wide with numbers and runes etched into it. In the center was a large sharpened piece of obsidian.

"Naga! Show yourself!" Gale called out, but Naga didn't answer. "Did he get lost or something?"

"Not likely." A hissing voice said.

Gale looked down and jumped back just in time as Naga appeared out of the ground with his claw held out. Gale back flipped as Naga fully appeared from the ground.

"Not bad." Naga said "You were always quick on your feet."

"Where do you think Sonic got it from?" Gale joked. "So, slitherpuss. How ya doing?"

"Better since you tried to kill me last time." Naga hissed angrily.

"Yeah, that's been bugging me." Gale said seriously. "How are you still alive after what happened fifteen years ago?"

"It wasn't easy." Naga said. "But I managed thanks to the Butterflies."

"Fein and Mira?" Gale questioned shockingly. "What happened to them?"

"It's nothing to worry about now." Naga said pleasurably. "Especially since they're dead."

"Damn you!" Gale yelled.

Gale charged forward and jumped at the venom-green serpent. He swung his foot around and curled into a sideways spin dash. He hovered over the ground for a moment before shooting at Naga. He uncurled and swung his foot at him, but the evil snake blocked it with his forearm. Naga grasped Gale's ankle and raised him...twenty feet in the air. Naga had somehow extended his arm to an impossible length. He flung his arm downward, thrashing Gale face-forward into the ground. Gale groaned; his head still throbbing from the hangover, but weakly gazed over his shoulder to watch Naga retract his arm.

"Since when could you do that?" Gale asked; weakly standing up against the slab of obsidian.

"I guess I owe it to you." Naga hissed amusingly. "If you had no tried to kill me, I never would have discovered the gift Orochimaru granted me."

"Gift? What gift?" Gale asked.

"You see, I wasn't born, I was created." Naga explained. "You see, by infusing his DNA and a serpent, Orochimaru intended to create the ultimate life form like his partner, Dr. Gerald Robotnik."

"The scientist from Fifty years ago?" Gale asked.

"Yes." Naga hissed. "Orochimaru looked up to Gerald's genius and planned to follow in his footsteps. He created me, but it was still not enough. He gave up the project is search for a way of immortality. He left it to me, but before I continue, I must exact my revenge."

"Revenge? Against who?" Gale asked.

"You." Naga hissed angrily.

"Well, that make since I tried to kill you." Gale said.

"This has nothing to do with that." Naga stated.

"Huh?" Gale asked.

"Aleena." Naga hissed. "You stole Aleena from me."

"Ok, now you lost me." Gale scratched his head.

"Aleena and I grew up together, loved each other." Naga explained. "I even asked her to marry me and she accepted. Everything was going great. It was only a week before the wedding when you showed up and brought your trouble with you."

"Hey, it's not my fault zombies decided to attack the same day I showed up." Gale defended.

"That's not the worst of it." Naga said. "A day before the wedding, we were arrested for helping you. We were forced to look for you and your bloody compass."

"You won't find it on me now." Gale stated. "I passed it onto Sonic last time we met."

"You think I give a damn!" Naga outburst. "I thought it was finally over when Davy Jones killed you, but Aleena wanted to save you. Upon her request, we traveled to Mangia and trekked trough the tunnels to hell and saved you. Then, we were dragged off to Shipwreck Island, where you were made king."

"Not that I don't enjoy reminiscing, but I still don't get why you would want revenge." Gale said.

"I'm getting to that!" Naga hissed. "After the war was over, I thought I could finally marry Aleena. But she said her heart had changed. She chose to marry you instead. It is despicable. She is a princes. she should not be gallivanting around the sea with a filthy pirate when she has her duties."

"I guess that's why she chose me instead." Gale chuckled. "You know, Sonic looks like me, but he has his mother's personality. They both have a love for freedom."

"That's another thing." Naga hissed. "You did something I could never forgive. You had a child, a child that should have been mine! I would never forget that day. The country celebrated on day of the birth of their newborn prince."

"I remember that day." Gale said happily. "I had a son and got free rum."

"You remember what happened later that day?" Naga chuckled.

"You kidnapped him." Gale sneered.

"Yes. I kidnapped Sonic when he was only hours old." Naga laughed; Gale gritted his teeth with hatred. "I took him away to private laboratory and performed an experiment on him. An experiment I expected to kill him."

"You damn..." Gale was too angry to finish.

"But to my surprise, he didn't die." Naga said interestingly. "Instead, it granted him a gift. A gift even he doesn't know about. You would be surprised how much he and Shadow have in common."

"What gift?" Gale questioned.

"It was unexpected, so I planned to confront Orochimaru when you showed up." Naga hissed. "It took fifteen years, but I finally found him. Thanks to him, I now know what I must do."

"What do you mean?" Gale asked.

"Do you remember when I marked him?" Naga asked. Gale nodded. "That mark allows me to track all my experiments by tracing their blood. Once I find Sonic, I will take Sonic's gift as my own and use it to do what it was intended for."

"How?" Gale asked.

"When I returned to my father, he taught me of a way to claim Sonic as my own." Naga said maliciously. Gale's eyes filled with curiosity when Naga spoke again. "I will consume Sonic's soul and take his body for my own."

"You bastard!" Gale yelled furiously. "That will never happen!"

"Think of it this way." Naga hissed. "I will be completing his destiny."

"You do not decide his destiny!" Gale exclaimed.

"I decided it the day he was born!" Naga shouted. "And there is nothing you can do about it!"

Naga extended his arm over ten feet in an attempt to claw Gale, but the hedgehog jumped over twenty feet in the air. Naga was stunned at how Gale could have done such a feat. Taking advantage of Naga's shock, Gale curled into a spin dash aimed at the snake. When he was close, Gale uncurled and stretched his leg out to slam his heel at the top of Naga's head. A wave of pain surged down Naga's spine as he fell back and black out.

"Consider yourself lucky." Gale growled. "I won't kill you. But if you go anywhere near my son, I will."

* * *

The next day had come and Gale had never wanted to leave Tortuga more then he wanted now. After the conflict with Naga, Gale was intent on gathering his old crew again. Not for an adventure like planned, but to ensure protection for his son. Even if Wrist refused to join. Gale made his way to the docks to uh...commandeer a ship. He had already knocked out the crew and threw them overboard when...

"Gale!"

Gale looked over to see who called his name. Wrist jumped aboard with a pack slung over his shoulder.

"Where are you going?" Gale asked.

"With you, of course." Wrist said, noticing Gale's shocked expression. "I thought about it. You and I have been friends for years. I couldn't just let you go on your own."

"Thank you, old friend." Gale said pleasingly.

"What now?" Wrist asked.

"We gather the old crew." Gale said like it was the simplest answer in the world. "You know, Thorn Rose, Accel the Hawk, and Mech the Swallow. It will be nice to see them again."

"But no one has heard from Accel and Mech since they left the Babylon Rogues." Wrist stated. "And last I heard, Thorn and his wife were killed by Naga the Snake."

"They are neither missing nor dead." Gale said with a hint of amusement. "They're just...experts."

As so, Gale and Wrist set off on their new mission. Meanwhile, back at Sun Point, Naga was finally starting to come to. Naga sat when Kai appeared out of nowhere. Naga seemed to recoil at the sight of the boy.

"You failed!" Kai spat. "You filthy waste of skin!"

Kai gripped Naga's face a ripped it off. Inside was not a snake, but a human boy no older then thirteen. Apparently, the boy was only pretending to act as the real Naga. He crawled backwards up the obsidian slab in an attempt to get away from Kai.

"P-p-please." The boy begged. "Please don't tell Lord Naga."

"Too late." Naga's voice sounded. The boy looked around the area in fright, but Naga couldn't be found anywhere. "You have failed Lord Naga. You know the penalty for failure."

"Please, my lord!" The boy cried. "Please! Give me another chance!"

"I must admit, it was impressive that you manage to hold off Gale for so long." Naga's voice said. "I will not kill you, but I will present you with a great honor."

"H-h-honor?" The boy stuttered.

"A great one." Naga's voice sounded amused. When he spoke again, it came out in a hissing sound. "ابتلاع الصبي"

The boy was waiting apprehensively for his reward. Suddenly, a loud hissing sound came from behind. The boy looked back to see a pair of piercing yellow eyes. It was the last thing he saw before Nagini snapped her jaw down on the boy's head. Kai turned away to let Nagini enjoy her new meal; acting as if nothing had happened.

"What now my, my lord?" Kai asked.

"Nothing to do but wait." Naga's voice replied. "We will have our chance at Gale when I posses Sonic's body. For now, we have...other matters to deal with."

* * *

**A father's love for his son is always strong. Will Gale find his crew again? Will Naga successfully take Sonic's body? And what unknown gift does Sonic have that Naga speaks of? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes.**

**Please, read and review.**


	36. Sonic's Ex

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Disclaimer: Tomo belongs to Kiba Sniper

Chapter Thirty-Six: Sonic's Ex

Another day had risen, but it was none too happy for Sonic and his friends. Early in the morning, Sonic, Vector, and Blue were somehow tricked into agreeing to go shopping to the mall with Amy, Rouge, and Cream. Currently, Sonic and the guys were sitting in one many shops the girls stopped by, holding the massive pile of bags, waiting for the girls to come back.

"How on Earth did we get talked into this?" Sonic questioned.

"Well, everything was going fine until they used the puppy-dog eyes." Blue explained. "Where do girls learn to do, anyway?"

"I have one question." Vector said to Blue. "I can understand Sonic, but why are we here?"

"Vector, my naive friend..." Blue shook his head. Then his eyes gleamed with realization. "...With a very good point. Later, Sonic."

Vector and Blue stood up and dumped all their bags on Sonic before turning to leave. But before they could even take two steps, Sonic pulled them back by their faces.

"Oh no!" Sonic exclaimed. "If I have to suffer, so do you!"

"Hey boys." Rouge called as she came back. She eyed strangely at the scene before her. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"No." The boys stated.

"Anyway..." Rouge said slowly. "Sonic, you got to check out Amy. She's incredible."

Sonic threw Vector and Blue on the floor and sat down as Amy came back. Amy had returned wearing a red sparkling dance dress that she had hoped would draw Sonic's eye. Blue and Vector, who's jaw had dropped, stared stunningly at Amy, but Sonic either wasn't impacted by this or acted like he wasn't.

"So, what do you think?" Amy asked Sonic.

"Uh...what do you want me to think?" Sonic asked awkwardly.

"Don't you think it makes me look Stunning? Maybe Alluring?" Amy asked disappointingly.

"I can't say that?" Sonic said in a hushed voice. "What if someone hears me?"

Amy held her head down sadly while Rouge shook her head in disappointment. All of a sudden, a rack of cloths fell over, making the five jump. A lumped formed in the jumble of cloths and Cream's head popped out.

"Cream, what's wrong?" Amy asked.

Cream dragged Amy and Rouge away from the boys and said. "Bad news: Sally's here."

"Oh no!" Amy gasped.

"Who's Sally?" Rouge asked.

"She was Sonic's ex-girlfriend." Cream explained.

"Sonic had a girlfriends?" Rouge said; trying to imagine Sonic with a girl. It was impossible.

"We got to go before..." Amy said.

"Sonic!"

"...Too late." Amy said glumly.

Sonic and the others turned to where Cream came from to find a female brown squirrel with flowing red hair wearing blue boots and vest. She was holding up the same dress Amy was wearing to herself when she noticed them.

"Sally, what are doing here?" Sonic asked; his eyes wide in disbelief.

"I was just passing by the city when I decided to stop for a bit of shopping." Sally explained. She held up the dress in front of her. "Hey, Sonic, what do you think of this?"

"I-it's stunning." Sonic stammered. "It's alluring. It's..."

"The same thing I'm wearing!" Amy snapped.

Realizing his mistake, Sonic bit down on his tongue, making it swell a bit, before he could say anything else. Blue and Vector slapped their faces at Sonic's stupidity, Rouge and Cream looked sad, but Amy appeared furious. The girls had to hold her back from killing him.

"Thanks." Sally said.

She went to the counter to pay for it, kissing Sonic on the cheek as she passed by. Sonic stared for a moment before returning his attention to Amy.

"You gonna get that?" Sonic asked; referring to the dress. Amy stamped on Sonic foot, making him jump up and down in pain, and she stormed off. "What's her problem?"

"You know, Espio always says I know nothing about females." Vector said. "Clearly, he doesn't know about you."

Sonic scratched his head in confusion. Amy dragged Sonic out of the store by his ear, refusing to buy the dress, quickly followed by the others.

"Let's try someplace else." Amy said; her voice carrying a hint of rage.

"Ow! Watch it, Amy!" Sonic yelped in pain. "What is up with you today?!"

"Nothing." Amy nearly yelled.

"Oh, Sonic!"

"Not now!" Amy muttered.

Sally had followed Sonic and the others back out, much to Amy's fury and disappointment. She snatched Sonic's arm, looking particularly excited.

"Sonic, come quick." Sally said. "They're having a special at the music store!"

"That sounds great." Sonic said.

"But what about your promise?" Amy asked.

"You go shopping everyday." Sonic reasoned. "We'll go some other time."

Amy wanted to say something, but Sonic had already left with Sally. After that, Amy didn't have the heart to do anything, despite her friends attempt to help. Coming to the conclusion that Amy was not in the mood, Blue and Vector went off to find Sonic and bring him back by force. To their surprise, They didn't find Sonic or Sally at the music store, but they saw them outside, while passing a window, down in the parking lot. Feeling a slight suspicion, the two snuck out and eyed them behind the bushes.

"Hey, Sal, why are we out here?" Sonic asked uncertainly.

"I thought we could spend some time alone for awhile." Sally said flirtingly.

"Uh...Sally, are you feeling ok?" Sonic asked nervously; back away as she came closer.

"Oh, I'm better then ok." Sally said.

Before Sonic even had time to react, Sally grasped both sides of his head and planted her lips on his. Vector's mouth dropped and Blue's head literally exploded. Sonic was struggling to break free, but Sally was persistent.

"This can't be good." Blue said. "We better make sure Amy doesn't see this." Vector nodded as the turned around. Unfortunately, the girls had already arrived, watching the entire scene unfold. Amy looked on the brink of tears. "Oh boy, this is trouble."

Sonic finally broke free, but quickly noticed Amy and said. "Uh...Amy, this isn't what it looks like! Honest!"

"Aw, don't be so modest, Sonic." Sally said.

"Amy, you got to believe me!" Sonic said desperately. "I would never..."

Sonic was unable to finish that sentence as Amy walked up to him and slapped him hard across the face. The area had become eerily silent; no one made a move or sound. No one would have ever expected Amy to react in way before. Sonic touched the place where Amy had hit him; unable to find any words to say. Before anyone could do anything, Amy used her super speed and ran off.

"Amy!" Creamed cried.

"You!" Blue shouted; pointing at Sally. "You did this! You knew Amy loved Sonic!"

"She's wasting her time." Sally said. "Sonic needs a woman, not a obsessive little fan girl."

"You little..." Rouge growled.

"Shut it!" Sonic roared, catching everyone by surprise. "We don't have time for this. We need to find Amy."

"Sonic, what good would that..." Sally started.

"Shut up!" Sonic growled angrily, scaring Sally slightly. "I'll deal with you later."

Sonic zoomed away in a desperate search for Amy. The pink hedgehog in question had already left the in Station Square and Jumped over to Central City. She was sitting atop one of the steel girders of one of the buildings under reconstruction, crying her eyes out. Never...and I mean _never _has Amy ever been so infuriated with Sonic. She had tried for three years to catch him and all he does is treat her like yesterdays trash.

"T-t-that stupid h-hedgehog." Amy sobbed. "H-h-how could he g-go back to that...that..."

Amy could even finish and continued to cry in her hands. He sobs were quickly ended when an alarm was raised close by. A nearby jewelry store had just been robbed. The newest Dark Ruler, Nack the Weasel, burst through the window holding a handful of diamonds, rings, and necklaces in one hand and his gun in the other.

"Not a bad haul." Nack sniggered.

"You do know it would be easier without letting everyone know we're here." Tomo the Chameleon said as she walked through the door.

"What fun is that?" Nack stated.

"Why did Lord Nazo let you join in the first place?" Tomo shook her head.

"I was wondering the same thing!" The two Dark Rulers turned to face Amy; her eyes still red and puffy. "What are you up to?"

"Looking for the chaos emeralds." Nack stated.

"Those don't look like emeralds." Amy said.

"That's what I said." Tomo muttered.

"Aw, shut up!" Nack said. "Why don't just go back to your hole, cry baby."

The next moment, Amy's Piko-Piko Hammer came in contact with Nack's face; jewels flying everywhere. The weasel was thrown down the street as Tomo pulled out her enlarged Shuriken. She thrust it forward, but it missed by three feet to the left. But Tomo secretly held the shuriken by an invisible wire and pulled back. The shuriken turned and swerved towards Amy's back. But to much of Tomo's surprise, Amy disappeared seconds before it hit. The shuriken twirled around her own body and the wire snapped tight, causing her to fall on her face. Nack started to regain feeling back in his legs when Amy grasped him by the neck.

"Don't – ever – call – me – that!" Amy seethed.

"Y-yes, ma'am." Nack squeaked.

"Oh, the indignity." Tomo said; freeing herself from the wire. A shadow loomed over her. "Who are you?"

The next second, Tomo was thrown to the wall next to Amy and Nack, making them look back. A large monster made from moss and vines with four tentacles in its back stomped forward; creating small craters in it path.

"Hey, Nazo sent a monster to help." Nack said cheerfully.

"I don't think he's here to help." Tomo said worriedly.

She had no idea how right she was. The tentacles in the monsters back threw themselves forward, extending over ten feet. Amy and Tomo were smart enough jump away, but Nack stood there like a deer caught in the headlights. Nack was pinned to the wall, lucky enough to have avoided being skewered. The moss monster retracted its tentacles for another attack.

"This guy is going to kill us. We need to have a talk with Lord Nazo." Tomo said; performing a series of seals. The moss monster threw its tentacles forward as Tomo initiated her jutsu. "Ninja art: Space-Time Jutsu!"

Before the attack could make a hit, both Tomo and Nack vanished in an instant. With most of its targets missing, the moss monster turned its attention to Amy, who held her hammer high.

"Don't even think about it!" Amy growled. "I'm in a bad mood and you do not want to mess with me!" But the monster failed to listen and stomped forward, creating craters in its wake. "All right! You asked for it!"

Amy zoomed in circles around the beast before jumping up and slamming her hammer at the back of its head. But the monsters body just seemed to suck it inside. Amy tried to pry her hammer out of it head when the monsters tentacles wrapped around her waist. It threw Amy over its head and slammed her into the ground. One of its remaining tentacles raised itself over the hedgehog girl's head and turned to a sharpened point. It thrust its tentacle down when a sudden blue blur sliced them and freed Amy. Amy turned around to see Sonic helping her up. Normally she would hug him to death, but not this time.

"I didn't need your help!" Amy stated; pulling herself away from him.

"Amy, you're not still mad at me, are you?" Sonic asked.

"Of course, I am!" Amy yelled. The monster was long forgotten. "Do you think after what you did, I would just forget like that?! I have chased you for three years, told you I loved you ever time, but do you show even the slightest compassion! Never!"

"Amy, I..." Sonic stammered.

"Don't even try to talk yourself out of this one, Sonic the Hedgehog!" Amy shouted.

She turned her back to him, leaving the true blue hero hurt and confused. He tried to talk to her again, but the moss monster decided to remind them that it was there. It wrapped one of it tentacles around Amy and threw her to the wall. Amy smacked hard and barely sat up when the monster raised all four tentacles. It lashed them forward like whips, causing Amy to close her eyes and wait for them to hit. But they never did. Amy opened her eyes to find Sonic standing over her; his expression filled with pain.

"Sonic..." Amy barely whispered.

"Amy...You're wrong about me." Sonic groaned. "I do care about you, more then you know. You have to believe me."

"I do." Amy said; her eyes filled with tears.

"What do you say we show this guy what were made of?" Sonic asked with a smirk.

"Lets." Amy returned the smirk.

The moss monster raised its tentacles for another barrage. They lashed at the hedgehogs for a second time, but they were both gone by then. Amy used her super speed to zoom circles around the beast, creating a pink tornado to trap it. The monster moved fearful in its compressed space, fearing what might happen to it, when Sonic's voice echoed.

"SONIC WIND!"

Amy stopped and moved away when Sonic pressed his signature attack through its chest. The compressed air attack spread itself, tearing the moss monster to pieces from the inside out. When it was over, pieces of moss and vines were strewed all over the city street. Sonic sighed in relief. Not that he had won, but that Amy was hugging him.

"Sonic, you were amazing!" Amy exclaimed.

"No, you were amazing, Amy." Sonic said as they separated. "Then again, you always were."

Amy's cheeked blushed red at Sonic's compliment. Their eyes were locked together in loving stare that they had not given since the Solaris incident, even if they don't remember it. Amy slowly closed her eyes an leaned forward while Sonic did the same. Their faces only an inch from each other when...

"Sonic!" Sally came out of nowhere and pushed Amy away. "Sonic, I was so worried about you."

"Haven't you done enough for one day?" Rouge said angrily; the others showed up with her. "It's your fault this happened in the first place."

"Yeah." Cream nodded.

"That's right." Vector agreed.

"It would be best if you just left." Blue glared.

"As if." Sally said. "Sonic and I are inseparable. Ain't that right, Sonic?"

"You're wrong." Sonic stated.

This was obviously the reaction Sally was not expecting. Sally took a step backwards and stared at Sonic in disbelief.

"But...I thought you loved me." Sally whispered.

"That's the thing, Sally! I don't!" Sonic said; clearly mad. "I may have before, but that was a long time ago. Whatever feelings I had for you are gone. I have learned to move on. Maybe you should do the same."

Sally acted as if Sonic was playing a joke, but judging by his expression, she knew he wasn't. Sally finally huffed and kicked Sonic in the shin ("Why is everyone doing that?!" Sonic screamed.) before turning tail and left. Sonic hissed at the pain in his leg, but forgot it when Amy resumed her glomping, much to the hedgehog's pleasure.

"Oh, Sonic, I knew you wouldn't leave me!" Amy cried.

"Of course I wouldn't." Sonic smiled. "I would never leave any of you."

"That's nice to hear." The group turned down the street to find Amy's older brother, Recter Rose, leaning against the broken jewelry store window. "Can I talk to you for a moment, Sonic?"

Sonic looked unsure for a moment, but Amy literally pushed him for it. The two hedgehog's walked done the street away from the others; Sonic with his hands covering his head.

"Don't worry; I'm not going to kill you." Recter said. Sonic let down his hand and sighed in relief. "All I want to know is what happened."

"Well, my ex-girlfriend came back and kissed me in front of Amy." Sonic explained. Recter growled lightly. "I tried to tell Amy she didn't mean anything, but she wouldn't listen. It took some convincing before she would talk to me."

"That's good." Recter said proudly. His expression turned serious the next second. "I have one more question I need you to answer honestly. How do you feel about my sister?"

Sonic could never have predicted Recter asking that kind of question. He stopped walking to think all the times he spent with Amy. The day he first met her three years ago and defeated his eternal rival, Metal Sonic. When she gave him the chaos emerald to transform into Super Sonic to fight Perfect Chaos. The time she battled alongside him against Shadow and Kumori. The day she came back into his life in Soleanna (Silver told them). All these memories kept reminding him that no matter what happed, Amy would always be there for him, despite the danger, which would always make his heart soar every time. He could smile proudly as he said those three powerful words.

"I love her."

* * *

Back at the realm of the Dark Rulers, Nazo and Black Doom looked over the chess board they used for their plans. They were still trying to find a way to the islands where the Sol Emeralds resided while searching for the chaos emeralds. But their planning was halted when two of their loudest members walked in.

"What the hell was that about?!" Tomo screamed.

"Huh?" Nazo asked.

"You know what we're talking about!" Nack yelled. "It's that monster you sent! The one that nearly killed us!"

"You have reasons to be angry." Nazo said coolly. "But there is just one problem."

"What's that?" Tomo asked.

"I never sent any monster." Nazo stated.

* * *

Back the Sonic Heroes base, the real Chaos was hovering over the Master Emerald in a state of meditation. Tikal was sitting on the steps, staring eagerly at the door, hoping someone would walk through it.

"I wonder when Blue will be back." Tikal said out loud.

"I notice you two spend a lot of time together." Chaos said in a language only Tikal understood. "You wouldn't happen to harbor any feelings for that clone, would you?"

Tikal said nothing, but her face turned the same shade of red as Knuckles fur while twiddling with her quill. All of a sudden, the Master Emerald started to emit an unusually bright glow. Chaos was pulled out of his meditation and landed of his feet in front of the large gem.

"What's happening, Chaos?" Tikal asked.

"I don't know." Chaos said honestly.

Chaos cautiously placed his hand on the emerald and was suddenly shock by a surge of green electricity. A wave of memories flooded his mind.

A hedgehog crouching over a dying lion, a young vixen, a gruff echidna, a white chrome blade, the same blade stabbing an ice creature that looked like Chaos in the chest, a black rock creature that looked like Chaos, a blue dragon leading an army of demons, seven multi-colored stones floating in the air, and a green hedgehog.

The surge blasted Chaos down the alter and Tikal ran to his side.

"Chaos, are you ok?" Tikal asked worried.

"I'm fine." Chaos said. But this was a lie. Chaos could sense something terrible from the emerald. _"The seal is breaking. The master is returning to power."_

* * *

**Sometimes dreams can come true. Will Sonic ever admit his feelings for Amy? Who sent the monster? What seal does Chaos speak of? And who is this "master"? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes.**

**Please read and review.**


	37. Heart and Sol, Part 1

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Note: Sonic Heroes: The Series has officially received over 10,000 hits. A recording breaking best for me. Yay, me! I would like to thank all my faithful readers for this great honor.

Now begins the part one of the three part Sol Emerald Saga.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Heart and Sol, Part 1

Pleasantly, a week had gone by and neither Eggman or Nazo has made any attempt for an attack on the Heroes. To celebrate the momentary peace, Silver, Blaze, and Tails had decided to spend the day at Emerald Beach. It was Silver who suggested it for 1) enjoying some fun in the sun and 2) hoping to see Blaze in a bikini. But Blaze had decided to wear her regular cloths, much to Silver's disappointment. Tails was playfully developing an automated sand castle with an actual working garage while Silver and Blaze sunbathed.

"Hey, Blaze, why don't you take a quick dip in the water?" Silver suggested hopefully.

"Give up, Silver. It'll be years before you see anything." Blaze said playfully.

"What are you saying?" Silver questioned innocently.

"I have known you for years. I know what goes on inside that head of yours." Blaze said. "Besides I'm a cat and a pyrokinetic. Those two don't really work well with water."

"I'm sure we can do something about that." Silver smirked.

Concentrating around Blaze, Silver used his telekinetic powers to levitate her body into the air.

"Silver, don't even think about it!" Blaze shouted. But her cries fell on deaf ear as she hovered over the water. "You put me down right now, Silver the Hedgehog!"

"Whatever you say." Silver chuckled.

As agreed, Silver dropped Blaze...straight into the ocean. Blaze sputtered and waved her arms like she was drowning when she realized it was only two feet deep. Silver laughed his butt off until he realized Blaze was standing over him; a roar of flames in the background. Silver, not wanting to be roasted, shot straight down the beach as Blaze released a wave of fireballs in his wake.

"Calm down, Blaze! It was only a joke!" Silver cried.

"Yeah, now he's the punch line!" Blaze roared as she shot another fireball.

Tails shook his head and laughed at their antics.

"He really is related to Sonic." Tails said.

For a moment, Tails had thought he saw Blaze's forehead jewel glow. But he just put it off as a glint from the sun. He turned back to his sand castle, where he was building an actual working model of the Tornado III. He then noticed the area had suddenly became darker. Dark clouds floated over the beach, blocking the sun from view.

"Uh...guys? Is that normal?" Tails asked worried.

Blaze stopped pelting fireballs at her boyfriend, who was now cowering up a tree, at looked up to the sky like Tails.

"Did you know there was supposed to be a storm?" Blaze asked Silver as he jumped down, realizing he was safe.

"Impossible." He replied. "I used my powers to check the weather. It was supposed to be clear for the next two days."

"Then what's that?!" Tails screamed.

One of the storm clouds formed into a funnel and crashed into ocean; sucking everything within a five mile radius. Tails, easily the lightest, was picked up by the sudden storm. Silver tried to save him when he realized he was being picked up along with Blaze. The three were sucked inside and lifted beyond the clouds. Blaze could feel a throbbing pain in her forehead and was knocked out. Tails quickly followed. Silver saw a small glow from Blaze's jewel and then everything went black.

* * *

"Do you think he's all right?"

"I hope so. Oh, why did I try to burn him?"

"Because you're just hot." Silver joked as he regained consciousness. Blaze and Tails kneeled over him with worried expressions. Silver sat up, groaning. "Sorry, that was a terrible pun."

"It doesn't matter." Blaze said; wrapping Silver in a loving hug. "As long as you're all right."

"I wonder where we are." Tails said out loud.

"What do you mean?" Silver asked.

"Take a look." Tails replied.

Silver stood up; his back aching a bit, when he realized where they were. It was a beach, but not the one they had come from. Behind them was a small forest of trees, a dock down the beach, and a dormant volcano was seen in the distance.

"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." Silver said.

"Or Emerald Beach." Tails stated. "Where do you think about this place, Blaze?" She didn't answer. "Blaze?"

Silver and Tails turned to the pyro cat, who seemed to be frozen in place. There was something about this place that seemed to scare Blaze.

"_This place..." _Blaze thought. _"...It can't be."_

"Blaze." Silver called; shaking her awake. "Blaze, what's up?"

"I...think I know this place." Blaze said slowly.

"Where are we?" Tails asked.

"I think we're..." Blaze started.

Suddenly, a loud motorized sound filled the air. The three searched up and down the beach, but found nothing that would create the sound. Suddenly, a motorized boat soared out of the forest for no reason at all and smashes into the heroes. The boat was destroyed and the heroes were buried under the wreckage.

"Why on Earth would there be a boat in a forest!" Silver exclaimed.

"Ow, my head." Tails groaned.

Blaze; being forced in an awkward angle, made feeble attempts to clew her way out of the wreckage when she hear a voice, a voice she knew.

"Crikey, maybe I should have put that brake in." said a young female with an Australian accent.

Just from hearing the voice, Blaze used her flames to melt away the wreckage so that she could stand up straight. There she found a raccoon girl at the age of eight sitting on the sand. She had orange fur with brown markings and two strands sticking out the back of her head held by two gold rings. She wore a green sleeveless shirt, black shorts, tan gloves, and green and orange shoes. She also wore a blue square-cut gem around gem around her neck. The young raccoon groaned and rubbed her head until she noticed Blaze. The two remained silent, never leaving each others gaze until.

"M-Marine?" Blaze whispered in disbelief.

"Blaze?" The girl known as Marine also whispered.

"I...I can't believe it." Blaze said happily.

"Blaze!" Marine cried; happy tears trekking down her face. The young raccoon jumped into Blaze's arms, who twirled her around playfully before embracing her. "Blaze, I can't believe you're back! I missed you!"

"I missed you, too, Marine." Blaze said; crying a little herself. "I'm so happy to see you again."

"Where have you been?" Marine asked as they separated.

Before Blaze could answer, the wreckage shot off into the air in random directions. Silver used his barrier to free himself and pulled Tails back up. The two turned to Blaze when they finally noticed her little friend.

"Who's the kid?" Silver asked.

"I'm no kid!" Marine shouted outraged. "I am Captain Marine the Raccoon! The world's greatest explorer!"

"So you finished your ship?" Blaze asked.

"No." Marine said glumly. She turned her head to the wreckage. "That was my latest one and your friends ruined it!"

"Hold up! We ruined it?!" Silver exclaimed. "We're not the ones that drove that thing into the forest!"

"I think we all got off on the wrong foot." Blaze sweated; fearing a fight might break out. "Let's introduce ourselves. Marine, this is our resident genius, Tails."

"Hi." Tails greeted.

"G'day, mate!" Marine replied enthusiastically.

"And this is my boyfriend, Silver the Hedgehog." Blaze introduced.

Marine stepped up to him and began to inspect grey hedgehog. She looked up and down and said. "Nice catch, mate."

"O...k." Silver said awkwardly. "So, who is this?"

"This is Marine the Raccoon." Blaze introduced Marine. "She was my best friend before I met you, Silver." She turned and kneeled down to Marine. "Marine, I need to ask you something very importent. Is this Southern Island?"

"Yep." Marine said cheerfully.

"Where's Southern Island?" Tails asked.

"It's an island in the southern hemisphere of...my dimension." Blaze said silently, but they heard.

"Your dimension!" Tails exclaimed. "You mean we went through the barriers that are seperated by time and space! This is amazing!"

"Since when has this been your dimension?" Silver asked.

"It was hers until she left five years ago." Marine explained. "Ain't that right, princess?"

"Princess!!" Silver and Tails yelled in surprise.

"I guess you didn't tell them." Marine said to Blaze, who shook her head. "Sorry, mate. I've just been so busy with my ship, I didn't think right." Marine held her head sadly as she stared at the wreckage. "I worked for weeks on that one."

"This is an interesting design." Tails said interestingly; inspecting a piece from the wreckage. "The body seems great, but the structure is lacking and it seems to be missing the breaks."

"Wow, how did you know that?" Marine asked curiously.

"I know a thing or two about building things." Tails said proudly.

"Do you think you could help me build it?" Marine asked hopefully.

"How about this?" Tails said. "How about I build you an entirely new ship for you?"

"Oh, thank you!" Marine while hugging him.

* * *

Back at the Sonic Heroes base, Cream was rolling in the grass with Cheese when she suddenly froze.

"My Tails senses are tingling!" Cream screamed as she jumped to her feet. "I'm coming, Tails!"

* * *

Back at Blaze's dimension, Tails remained back on the beach to fix up the broken ship. Silver, Blaze, and Marine decided to head back to Marine's house in the nearby village. But unknown to them, someone was watching; their sights set on the gem around Marine's neck.

"Argh, there it be." A voice said. "After months of searching, the last gem is within our grasp."

"What now, cap'n?" A second voice asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" The first voice asked. "We steal it, of course."

"Leave it to me." The second voice sniggered.

Silver, Blaze, and Marine reached the small village and were sitting outside Marine's house; she left her key inside. Silver used the next ten minutes yelling about how Marine was dumb enough to forget her key inside her own home. When he was done, Blaze spent the next half-hour explaining everything about her past. From her birth to her discovery of her fire to the legendary gems, the sol emeralds.

"So let me get this straight." Silver said. "You're a princess destined to guard these 'sol emeralds'." Blaze nodded her head solemnly. "Wow, I've been dating a princess all this time and I didn't even know it! How lucky can you get?!"

"Really lucky." Marine giggled.

"So if you're a princess, why did you decide to leave?" Silver asked.

"I was nine years old when my parents forced me to become the guardian of the sol emeralds." Blaze said; her hands shaking furiously. "They stamped this jewel in my forehead to symbolize my guardianship. I was didn't want this responsibility; I panicked. By discovering the secrets of the sol emeralds spatial powers, I travel to your dimension. You know the rest."

"What happened to the sol emeralds? Silver asked.

"They were scattered." Marine explained; her friend's eyebrows rose. "I was only three, but I would remember when my best friend left. The emeralds zoomed off, but I was lucky enough to catch one." Marine lifted the gem around her neck to eye level. "I always kept it so I would always remember you."

"Marine, I'm sorry I left you behind." Blaze apologized.

"Aw, no trouble, mate!" Marine shouted cheerfully. "At least you're back now!"

"Yeah, but we won't be for long." Blaze said sadly. "Right now, we need to think of a way back."

"While you do that, you won't mind if I take this off your hands." A new voice said.

Suddenly, a violent gust of wind came out of nowhere and knocked Marine down on her back. She rubbed her head when she noticed her sol emerald was missing. Silver and Blaze jumped to their feet while the gust started to make a break for it. Silver threw his hand forward and created a barrier, which the gust slammed into and revealed its true face. He was a green robot with a torpedo head and a shark face.

"Hey, what's the big idea?!" The robot shark snarled.

"And who are you supposed to be?" Silver asked.

"I'm Johnny, the fastest thing alive."

"Hate to burst your bubble, but Sonic the Hedgehog is the fastest thing alive." Silver sniggered.

"As princess of this world, I order you to unhand the sol emerald!" Blaze demanded; her hands beginning to spark.

"Sorry, prissy, but I don't see that happening any time soon." Johnny sniggered.

"Then feel my wrath!" Blaze shouted.

Roaring flames formed around Blaze's fists as she charged forward. Blaze spun into the air and formed into a tornado of fire. Johnny, realizing that Silver's barrier was still up, kicked up off the invisible wall and flipped over Blaze, causing her to smack into the barrier. Johnny laughed as Blaze sprawled against Silver's barrier when he noticed his feet started to glow. Johnny was suddenly thrown against the sandy ground. Johnny growled While Silver leaned against Marine's house, grinning madly.

"You may be fast, but the mind is faster." Silver smirked.

"Oh yeah?" Johnny challenged.

Johnny jumped to his feet and shot forward at Silver. But the grey hedgehog waved it off like it was nothing. But when he came within feet of him, Johnny smacked into an invisible barrier.

"You think he would have figured that out by now." Marine said amusingly.

"Aw, shut up." Johnny said.

Johnny pried his face from Silver's barrier and growled when he felt a sudden burning sensation from his backside. He looked back to find blaze, ginning madly, pointing at his rear. He looked down to find his rear end was on fire. Johnny screamed; the sol emerald flying out his hand. Marine caught the emerald, laughing her heart out as Johnny dragged his butt across the ground. Realizing the sand was only making it worse, Johnny ran off toward the beach, screaming his head off.

"That was classic!" Silver laughed; wiping tears from his face. He wrapped his arms around Blaze's sides. "It's times like these I realize why I fell in love with you."

"Oh, you." Blaze said playfully, pulling him into a kiss.

"Aww!" Marine said giddily. She swooned over the couple until. "Watch out!"

The two lovers looked over just in time to flip away as a steel fist swung at them. Another fist flew out of nowhere and stole the sol emerald from Marine's hands. The fist flew over and reattached to its owner. The owner was a bulbous, one-eyed robot in a red coat, two skull gauntlets, a pirates hat, and had a steel white mustache on his face. Johnny stood by his side.

"Avast, ye bilge rats!" The pirate proclaimed. "I, Captain Whisker, have successfully obtained the last sol emerald!"

"The last emerald?" Silver questioned. "Does that mean you have all of them?"

"Argh." Whisker said. No one had any idea what that meant.

"He means yes." Johnny explained.

"Oh!" said the heroes.

"As princess of this world and guarding of the sol emerald, I order you to surrender the emeralds in your possession at once!" Blaze demanded.

"Not a chance, ye scurvy wench." Whisker stated. Marine had to hold Silver back from beating him to a pulp. "With the emeralds, we can open the door to the Jeweled Scepter!"

"The what?!" Blaze and Marine exclaimed.

"Way to go, big mouth." Johnny muttered.

"What's the Jeweled Scepter?" Silver asked, but no one answered.

"I will never allow you to touch the Scepter!" Blaze yelled. "Not as long as I remain it's guardian!"

Blaze skipped off the ground and performed her signature flame tornado.

"You don't have much of a choice, wench." Whisker said. He raised the blue sol emerald to the sky. "SOL CONTROL!"

Seconds before Blaze could reach them; a white vortex formed behind the robots and sucked them in. The vortex disappeared and Blaze landed face first into the sand. Silver and Marine quickly ran to her side.

"Blaze, are you all right." Silver asked in concern.

"The Jeweled Scepter." Blaze muttered; ignoring Silver's question. "We have to get to it before they do!"

Without taking a moment to rest, Blaze jumped up and ran back to the beach with Marine at her side. Silver stood stunned for a moment, wondering what had happened, before reluctantly following. They arrived back on the beach just as Tails put the finishing touches on the ship. It was made from special steel found only on the island, polished finely as the sun gleamed brightly against it, and put in an engine with a similar disign like the one he put into the Tornado III. Tails was wiping the grime off his face when the others showed up.

"Hey, guys." Tails waved happily.

"Did you do all this, Tails?" Marine asked in awe.

"Yep." Tails said proudly. "It's made from jeweled steel, a fine chrome coat, and high-powered turbo engine for extra speed. I even put in a break."

"You're amazing, Mate!" Marine cheered, hugging him.

* * *

--Meanwhile--

"I'll find you, Miles Prower!" Cream screamed.

--Back to the Heroes--

* * *

"We don't have time for this." Blaze snarled. She grabbed the children by the scruffs of there necks and threw them aboard. "Prepare to cast off! Marine, take the wheel!"

"Aye, aye, captain!" Marine saluted.

"What's going on?" Tails asked Silver as he jumped aboard.

"I have no idea." Silver said honestly.

"Marine, plot a course for Coral Cave!" Blaze commanded.

"Aye, aye, mate!" Marine replied.

Marine took the ship by the wheel and gave a sharp turn to the right, causing Silver and Tails to nearly be thrown overboard. Blaze remained firm. Silver could not even remember a time when Blaze was this serious. Not even against Iblis. She wasn't telling him something and he wanted to find out what. As the heroic crew sailed off after the robot menace, a pair of blue eyes watched them from the shadows of the trees. The leaves of the trees flowed in the wind, revealing momentarily the dragon face of Future Mecha Shadow.

"So this princess has arrived as I predicted." Future Mecha roared. "This world will not be the only one under my control."

* * *

**Blaze returns home, but trouble also follows. What is the Jeweled Scepter? What secret does Blaze possess? and what plan does Future Mecha have in store for for Blaze? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes.**

**Please, read and review.**


	38. Heart and Sol, Part 2

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Now begins Part 2 of 3 in the Sol Emerald Saga.

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Heart and Sol, Part 2

Twenty miles west they traveled and the heroes have yet to find this 'Coral Cave'. It was a half-hour since they suffered their most humiliating defeat at the hands of the ridiculous pirate themed villain, Captain Whisker. Marine was at the helm, whistling randomly. Tails was hanging over the side; he had just discovered he had sea sickness. Blaze, on the other hand, had not moved from the bow since the start of the journey. She looked out to the open water, hoping to see land soon. Silver took one glance to her before he walked up to Marine.

"Hey, what's up with Blaze?" Silver asked.

"I don't really know, mate." Marine said honestly.

"Then do you at least know what the Jeweled Scepter is?" Silver asked.

"Blaze told me once, but I didn't really understand." Marine said curiously. "What, she didn't tell you? I thought she would have told you something about it, mate."

"I thought so, too." Silver said. He stared longingly at Blaze. "But ever since we showed up here, I'm starting to doubt our relationship."

"Don't do that, mate!" Marine cried; she let go of the wheel, causing it to jerk slightly to the right. Blaze staggered and Tails fell in the water. Marine realized this and regained control of the ship. "Sorry."

"Keep an eye on where we're going." Blaze said as she pulled Tails back in.

"Ok." Marine said before rounding to Silver. "Silver, you shouldn't doubt what you and Blaze have, mate."

"But there's so much she hasn't told me." Silver said insecurely. "So many secrets she's kept from me."

"That shouldn't matter!" Marine exclaimed. "Do you love her, mate?"

"Yes." Silver answered.

"Does she love you?" Marine asked.

"Yes." Silver answered.

"Then that should be enough." Marine stated. "As long as you love each other, you know everything about each other, mate."

"Wow, Marine, that was very insightful." Silver said impressed.

"Thanks, mate. Want a taco?" Marine said; pulling a taco out of thin air.

"Where'd you get that?" Silver questioned.

"Hey, who took my taco?" Tails asked.

Silver shook his head as Tails resumed his usual position and Marine ate his taco. The rest of the trip, Silver sat back with is gaze fixated on Blaze's still form. Marine was right. Silver loves Blaze and that's all that should matter. But still, Silver couldn't help but feel that Blaze didn't trust him enough.

"Stop!" Blaze screamed; she raised her hand to signal Marine.

Marine hit the brake and the ship came to a sudden halt; Tails and Silver fell on their faces.

"I think I'm going to me sick." Tails moaned; his face slightly green.

"What's up, mate?" Marine asked.

"The cave." Blaze muttered. "What happened to the cave?"

Struggling a little, Silver pulled himself up to the side of the ship. Silver could see why Blaze was concerned. They were in the ocean, miles away from civilization, and the supposed cave was nowhere to be found.

"Oh, you meant 'that' cave." Marine said. Silver and Blaze looked curiously at the young girl; Tails was still sea sick. "I forgot to tell you. Two years ago, your parents died..."

"Good riddance." Blaze said disdainfully under her breath.

"...And the cave sank to the bottom of the ocean shortly after." Marine explained.

"That would explain why Whisker used sol control." Blaze stated.

"What is sol control, anyway?" Tails asked, finally recovered from his sea sickness after the ship stopped.

"Sol control is similar to chaos control." Blaze explained. "But instead of stopping time, it opens direct channels to the location of the user's desire. I used it when I fled this dimension."

"But if the cave is at the bottom of the sea, how do we get to the Jeweled Scepter?" Silver asked.

"Already taken care of, mate." Marine stated cheerfully. The others looked hopeful. "After the cave sank, some of my koala friends found a way to bring it back."

"How do we do it?" Blaze asked.

"First we need to find the island. I'll take us there, mate." Marine said.

Marine jerked the ship to the left; Tails falling back to his usual position. Not far from their point, Marine anchored the ship on a nearby deserted island. the crew jumped ship and Tails even kissed the ground. Marine walked the team up the side of the hill where they found a small alter with multiple holes punctured in it and a pile of small stones stacked on top.

"Is this it?" Tails asked.

"Yep!" Marine cheered.

"So how does it work?" Blaze asked.

"Hmm...I forgot." Marine stated. Everyone facefaulted. Marine ponder curiously as she leaned against the alter. "Was I supposed to get something first or maybe..."

But while Marine leaned into the alter, it somehow moved forward. Marine fell to the ground and the every one of the stones miraculously fell inside the holes. Suddenly, the island started rattling out of control.

"That can't be good!" Silver exclaimed.

"Earthquake!!" Marine screamed; jumping on Tails face.

* * *

--Meanwhile--

Whoever you are, stay away from my Tails!!" Cream screamed into the sky.

--Back with the Heroes--

* * *

Tails fell on his back from the sudden weight. Silver dropped to his knees to maintain control and Blaze inserted her claws into a tree to stand up straight. During all this, Silver saw something beginning to rise out of the water not far from them. It definitely looked like an opening to a cave. It held a circular stone entrance covered in algae and coral most likely obtained from the years of being at the bottom of the ocean. Once it had fully risen, the shaking island had clamed.

"What is that?" Tails asked.

"Bonza! Once again, I, Marine the Raccoon, have saved the day!" Marine cheered eagerly.

"Uh...right." Silver said awkwardly.

"Whisker is in there along with the Jeweled Scepter." Blaze stated. "I must stop him before he destroys the balance."

"Before we go, don't you think we should know what we're looking for?" Tails asked.

"There's no time for that!" Blaze growled. Tails trembled behind Silver. "We have to stop him before he gets the Scepter!"

"You're not going to tell us?" Silver questioned seriously. Blaze ignored him and walked away. "Does that mean you don't trust us?"

Blaze instantly stopped at the word and turned back, looking slightly hurt. She knew that she had been keeping this secret from Silver ever since they met. But Silver had always been honest with her, why couldn't she? Blaze sighed heavily.

"The Jeweled Scepter is legendary object created before recorded history." Blaze explained. "No one knows where it came from or how it was created, only that it held terrible powers. For you see, whoever controls the scepter controls the world."

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Tails asked.

"I didn't want to push my burden on you." Blaze said sadly.

"Aw, don't be a steckybeak, Blaze." Marine said happily.

"What's a steckybeak?" Silver asked; Tails shrugged.

"We're all friends." Marine stated. "We'll always be there for you."

"She's right, you know?" Tails said.

"But this isn't your world." Blaze stated.

"No, but it is yours." Silver said. "We'll be there to protect it because you are important to all of us, Blaze. Especially me."

"T-thank you." Blaze stammered embarrassingly.

Her spirits held high, Blaze could stand pridefully alongside her friends. The crew made their way back to the ship; Tails resumed his position on the side. Marine quickly took the helm and wheeled it back around towards Coral Cave. They soon departed; Tails had to stop for a moment, and entered the cave mouth. The most fascinating sight awaited them inside the cave. The walls of the cave, from top to bottom, were covered in jewels of every shape, size, and type.

"Whoa! Rouge would have a field day with this place." Tails said in awe.

"She can have them." Blaze said. "Jewels are very common in this dimension. So common, in fact, they are used for building material."

"People build things from jewels?" Tails asked. Blaze nodded. "Wow."

"I bet I'd have a better view up here." Maine said as she climbed up the jeweled wall.

"Marine, be careful." Blaze said like a mother to her child.

"Don't worry, mate!" Marine called down. "There ain't nothing I – AHH!"

Marine grabbed a large ruby and fell through the wall. The others could hear Marine's body tumble on the other side of the wall and hit the ground with a loud thud. They pressed their ears along to the side and sighed in relief when they heard Marine mumble something about 'red rocks' and 'dingoladites'.

"Marine, are you ok?!" Silver shouted.

"Crikey! You have to see this!" Marine called back.

The trio looked at each other with bewildered expressions. Tails circled his namesake to fly upwards while Silver levitated himself and Blaze with his telekinetic powers. Tails was the first to go through the hole and land next to Marine, followed by Blaze and Silver. Marine pointed forward to redirect their attention. There, they found seven square-cut gems hovering in the air, each of different color: red, blue, yellow, purple, light-blue, green, and white. Just below them was a staff with a head covered in jewels and a circular hole in the center.

"The Jeweled Scepter!" Blaze exclaimed.

"But where's Whisker?" Silver asked as he searched the area.

"Be looking for me, Are ye?!"

Silver and Blaze pulled their younger allies back as a rocket fist flew past them and back to Whisker's arm, who was now standing in front of the emeralds with Johnny.

"Whisker!" Blaze growled.

"Ahoy, ye filthy bilge rats." Whisker greeted. "It warms me heart to see you witness my moment of triumph."

"As if." Silver said in spite. "The only thing you triumph in is having a bad accent."

"He's got you there, cap'n." Johnny sniggered. Whisker bashed him over the head. "Ow! Cranky."

"What do you plan to do, anyway?" Blaze questioned.

"Avast, ye wench." Whisker said. Tails and Marine held Silver back again. "Ye won't live long enough to find out. Johnny, join me so that we may rid ourselves of these pests."

"Uh-uh! No way! I still have the burns on my butt from last time! Your own your own pal!" Johnny exclaimed as he turned and zoomed down the cave. "Later!"

"Ye coward!" Whisker screamed.

"Looks like it's just us." Silver smirked.

"Very well." Whisker said surprisingly energetic. "Allow me to show ye the power of the Pirate King!"

* * *

--Somewhere in the Caribbean--

"Kill him, Silver!" Gale yelled.

"Who are you talking to?" Wrist asked frightfully.

"I have no idea." Gale said confused.

--Back with the Heroes--

* * *

Whisker held his arms forward and shot out both his fists like rockets. Silver and Blaze rolled away while Tails and Marine dropped to the floor. The rocket fists went through the walls as Silver charged forward at Whisker with his hands glowing bright. He was only a foot away when one of Whisker's fist jumped out of the floor and slammed into Silver's jaw. Silver fell on his back, his mouth bleeding slightly, as Whisker reattached his arm. Blaze jumped from the back and tried to kick him when Whisker's other fist caught her leg and threw her to the wall before reattaching itself.

"Had enough, wench?" Whisker asked Blaze tauntingly.

"You know, I am really sick of you calling her that!" Silver growled.

"I'll call her whatever I wish." Whisker stated, his arm held forward. "And there is nothing ye can do about it."

Whisker launched his left fist forward to Silver, but the grey hedgehog already beat him to it. Silver held his hand forward, stopping Whisker's fist in midair. Silver clasped his fist and crushed Whisker's into a useless scrap.

"Hey! I be needing that!" Whisker cried.

"Yeah? What are you going to do about it?" Silver grinned.

Whisker was furious and he had a way of expressing it. Whisker threw his head back and shot it forward to eject a jet of flame from his mouth. Silver was not expecting this, but reacted it time to roll away. Unfortunately, the fire managed to burn his left leg severely. Silver winced and hissed in pain, trying to mend the burn with his powers. Whisker, however, was no going to give him the opportunity. He reeled his head back again and shot the flames once more. This time Silver had no chance of escape. Just when Silver seemed doomed to death, Blaze jumped in and took the hit.

"Blaze!" Marine cried.

"That's the end of her." Whisker stated. Suddenly, he noticed Silver chuckling. "What are ye smirking about?"

"You just made a big mistake." Silver grinned.

True to Silver's words, The flames that engulfed Blaze was being redirected and Blaze remained unharmed. Blaze recalled Whisker's fire into her hands above her head to form a gigantic fireball. Whisker scamper back in terror, but Marine was crouching behind him to trip him over. Once Marine had cleared away, Blaze unleashed her fire and hit him square in the chest. Whisker's chest was blown wide open and thrown back to the Jeweled Scepter.

"Strewth! That was amazing, Blaze!" Marine cheered.

"Perfect as always." Silver complimented while Blaze lifted his arm over her shoulders.

"This isn't over." Whisker groaned as he stood. He quickly grabbed the Jeweled Scepter and raised over his head. "With the Jeweled Scepter, I cannot lose!"

"No! Don't!" Blaze exclaimed

Whisker twirled the Scepter over his head and slammed the bottom to the ground. A few silent seconds passed; everyone waiting for something to happen. But noting did.

"Uh...is this thing working right?" Whisker asked. Whisker slammed it again, but still nothing happened. "Why isn't this confounded thing working?!"

"Isn't something supposed to happen?" Silver asked bewildered.

"Maybe he did something wrong." Blaze said, equally confused.

Whisker slammed the Jeweled Scepter like a raving monkey, but nothing happened. Taking this momentary distraction, Tails reached into the backpack he had with him and pulled out a set of gold rings. He threw the rings and exploded on Whisker, knocking him to the wall, sending the Scepter out of his hands. Marine caught the Scepter and Whisker weakly stood up.

"I don't understand." Whisker said. "He said it would work."

"Who said it would work?" Tails asked.

"The one who assigned me this mission." Whisker explained. "The one who told me the secrets of the emeralds and the Jeweled Scepter."

"Who is he?" Blaze questioned.

"Ugh, his name is..."

Before Whisker could finish, a bolt of black lightning struck his head. Whisker's entire upper body was blow off and the rest fell back. At the same time, all seven sol emeralds suddenly vanished. Blaze would have questioned the disappearance, but her mind was on the destruction of Whisker. The four scanned for any signs of the attacker, but found nothing.

"What happened, mate?" Marine asked shakily.

"I don't know." Tails said. "But whoever attacked him obviously didn't want us to find out."

"What do we do know?" Silver asked.

"There's nothing we can do but return to Southern Island to regroup." Blaze explained.

The others agreed with Blaze's plan. While Silver, Blaze, and Tails returned to the ship, Marine set the Jeweled Scepter back in its proper place. A moment before she turned, she thought she saw a pair of eerie blue eyes. She did a double take, but didn't see anything unusual. Marine skipped back to the ship and steered it back home; Tails resumed his normal position. But back in the cave, Johnny heard the commotion end and returned to check up on the fight. imagine his surprise when he found only half of Whisker's body lying on the ground.

"What happened? Did they do this?" Johnny asked. While Johnny inspected the remains of his captain, a low, ferocious growl echoed against the cave walls. "What was that?"

Johnny jumped to his feet and prepared to fight for his life. Too bad it ended shortly after a pair of steel jaws snapped over his head.

* * *

A half-hour later, Marine landed the ship on the docks, literally. Marine was apologizing to her koala friends for destroying it, Tails was kissing the sand; a crab grabbing his tongue, while Blaze and Silver rested under the shade of a palm tree.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before." Blaze said suddenly. Silver looked at her confused. "About my past."

"It's ok." Silver said reassuringly. "You didn't want to talk about it. I understand."

"You still had a right to know." Blaze said.

"Blaze, I love you and you love me." Silver said fondly. "That's all I need to know. Marine told me that."

"She's very smart for her age." Blaze chuckled. "I think Cream might have some competition."

The two lovers enjoyed the moment together, which was ruined when the island was shaken by a sudden earthquake. Silver and Blaze quickly jumped up; Silver winced slightly from his bandaged leg. Tails joined them with Marine clutched to his face.

"Earthquake!!" Marine screamed.

"Where is it coming from?" Blaze questioned. "Earthquakes are not common in these parts."

"Perhaps I can explain."

Suddenly, a thin coil jumped out of the water and knocked Tails and Marine to the side. the coil whipped across Silver's face and threw him back away from Blaze. The coil returned to the water and a monstrous figure emerged from the depths and onto the beach. Blaze now came face-to-face with the dragon-faced, time rogue: Future Mecha. Blaze was slightly taken back by his appearance and even more by what he was holding. In one claw, he held the seven sol emeralds. In the other, the Jeweled Scepter.

"Who are you?" Blaze questioned furiously.

"Now, now, princess. No need to get hasty." Future Mecha chuckled. "I come from the future, from Silver's time period to be exact. You may remember me as Mecha Shadow."

"Mecha Shadow?" Silver questioned as he limped forward. "What happened to you?"

"The centuries have been good to me." Future Mecha said maliciously.

"What do you want?" Blaze questioned.

What I want is something only you can provide me, princess." Mecha stated. "I think it's time you knew the truth about the emeralds."

* * *

**The servants have fallen and the master emerges. Why did the Jeweled Scepter fail? What secret does Future Mecha know about the Sol Emeralds? And what does Blaze possess that he needs? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	39. Heart and Sol, Part 3

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Now begins Part 3 of 3 in the Sol Emerald Saga.

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Heart and Sol, Part 3

This has been one hell of a homecoming for Blaze. She had been sucked up into a freak storm, returned to her homeland, reunited with her old friend, reveal her past to her boyfriend, and had to fight off robot pirates to protect her family treasures: the sol emeralds. And to top things off, a robotic dragon who clams to be there old enemy, Mecha Shadow, has appeared with not only the sol emeralds, but the Jeweled Scepter as well. Is this like the worst day ever or what?

"I think it's time you learn the truth about the sol emeralds." Mecha said sinisterly.

"What could you possibly know about the sol emeralds?!" Blaze growled.

"I know quite a lot more then you think." Mecha stated. "In fact, I believe I know more then you do."

"_Crikey, that big face guy is scare._" Marine thought while shaking behind Tails namesakes.

* * *

**--Meanwhile--**

"Let go of my boyfriend's tails!!" Cream screamed.

"She's officially lost it." Sonic said.

"I'll call the asylum." Shadow said.

--**Back to the heroes**--

* * *

"But I have lived with the secret of the sol emeralds my whole life." Blaze informed.

"Really?" Mecha questioned "Then do you know how you were able to reach Silver's dimension?"

"By using the spatial powers of the sol emeralds." Blaze answered obviously.

"That would be true if they had transported you to another part of the world." Mecha said. "But we are talking about a dimensional transport. It would be impossible to do so if there wasn't something connecting to the other side. You could have easily ended up in the Arabian Nights."

"The Arabian Night?" Silver questioned.

"I think that's the name of Jet's book." Tails informed.

"But what does that have to do with anything?" Blaze asked.

"_I'm hungry_" Marine thought. "_I wonder what's for lunch?"_

"It has everything to do with it, Blaze." Mecha stated. "As I am sure Jet has told you, there exist seven powers known as the Seven World Rings within the book. Erazor Djinn used them to escape the book centuries ago. Did Jet explain how?"

"Erazor gathered the World Rings." Silver informed. "It's because the World Rings hold a connection to..."

"The seven chaos emeralds." Mecha finished. "That is how he was able to escape as well as you, Blaze."

"What do you mean?" Blaze asked stunned.

"Isn't it obvious?" Mecha cackled. "The chaos emeralds and the sol emeralds are one and the same!" Mecha took pleasure out of the shocked expressions of the heroes. Except for Marine, who was eating a taco. "One set cannot exist without the other. They have the power to feel one another."

"What do you mean?" Silver asked.

"The emeralds hold an equivalent bond." Mecha explained. "For example: if I were to destroy the red sol emerald, the red chaos emerald would vanish. They also have the unique ability to call each other, like this."

The seven sol emeralds levitated above Mecha's head and he reached out to touch one. On contact, the single emerald glowed followed by the others. A second later, seven brilliant flashes of light erupted around Mecha, causing the others to go temporarily blind. But when the opened their eyes, they were met with the surprise of all seven chaos emeralds floating around Mecha's body.

"You!" Silver screeched. "It was you who made the chaos emeralds disappear!"

"Funny, isn't it?" Mecha chuckled. "Even though Nazo knows more about the emeralds then anyone, he has never even dreamed of the kind of power I have discovered."

"What power?" Tails asked timidly.

"The one power to control everything." Mecha explained. "As you already know, Silver, the chaos emeralds hold the ability to control time. And as you know, Blaze, the sol emeralds can control space. Now, what kind of power could I obtain from holding both?"

The heroes were stumped. What kind of power exists from using time and space together? Not surprisingly, it was Tails who had the answer.

"Reality."

"Precisely." Mecha grinned. "Time and space together have the power to control all of reality. Imagine; a world created in my own image. Using the combined powers of the emeralds, I will go beyond the strength of god! Not even Nazo will dare to challenge! A Machine Empire will be formed with me as its immortal king!"

"That's not going to happen!" Blaze exclaimed.

"Not now, anyway." Mecha said calmly. "For you see, in order to activate their combined powers, I require an item that controls them. A power similar to the Master Emerald."

"The Jeweled Scepter!" Tails shouted in realization.

"Finally caught on, have you." Mecha mocked.

"Too bad for you." Silver chuckled arrogantly. "The Jeweled Scepter is a dud. It failed for Whisker and it will definitely do the same to you."

"I knew it would fail the moment I created Whisker and Johnny." Mecha said.

"Created?" Blaze questioned.

"Of course." Tails said. "Don't you remember what he said?"

"_The one who assigned me this mission." Whisker explained. "The one who told me the secrets of the emeralds and the Jeweled Scepter."_

"It must have been Mecha he was talking about."

"I tricked Whisker into gathering the emerald because I knew they would call to you in distress, Blaze." Mecha informed. "Once here, I could retrieve the one piece that was required for the Jeweled Scepter: the keystone."

"What keystone?" Blaze asked. "I don't posses any keystone."

"But you do." Mecha stated. "And it's stamped there on your forehead."

Blaze's face went pale. She unconsciously touched the jewel on her forehead, the one her parents forced on to her.

"But my parents..." Blaze began.

"Your parents thought they could outsmart me." Mecha grinned. "I traveled to this dimension, but the time period was not as I calculated. When they revealed that the keystone was in your possession, they thought I couldn't reach you. They knew you would panic and use the sol emeralds to escape. That's why they gave the keystone to you. To protect you."

"My parents were trying to protect me?" Blaze asked; tears beginning to shed from her eyes.

"That's what they told me." Mecha stated. "When I had no more use for them, I killed them."

"You monster!" Blaze screamed.

"Flattery will get you nowhere." Mecha said coolly. "Now for that keystone."

Mecha dived for with his claw stretched out. Blaze, still frozen from the truth, was a sitting duck. Realizing this, Silver knocked her away just as Mecha swiped at her. Unfortunately, it allowed one of Mecha's claws to reopen the wound in his leg. Silver huddled his leg to his chest, hissing in pain, while Mecha continued his advances on Blaze. Seeing as how Silver and Blaze were out, Tails reached into his backpack and threw a handful of explosive rings. But the rings didn't even tickle him. Mecha shot a glance at Tails and whipped his tail at him in annoyance. With no one to stop him, Mecha wrapped his claw around Blaze's waist and raised her to eye level.

"Now for the keystone." Mecha muttered.

"You won't get away with this." Blaze stated.

"But my dear Blaze..." Mecha reached up and touched Blaze's jewel with his claw. "...I already have."

In one mighty tug, Mecha forcefully ripped the gem from Blaze's head. With his prize in hand, Mecha no longer had a need for Blaze and threw her to the sand. Blaze looked up to Mecha with her hand to her forehead; blood slipping between her fingers. Mecha took the jewel and placed it in the circular hole in the center of the Jeweled Scepter. Once the jewel was inserted, the other jewels on the Scepter began to glow.

"At last! Victory is mine!" Mecha roared. Silver and the others joined at Blaze's side at the moment. "Now after two hundred years of waiting, the world shall fall under my rule!"

"No!" The heroes cried except Marine.

"I'm hungry again." Marine said randomly.

Mecha raised the staff into the air before slamming it to the ground. A red light radiated from the staff and immersed itself around Mecha's body. When the light disappeared, he had completely changed. His body was similar to his original one, but the armor was red instead of black. His cape was crimson and now had a pair of retractable wings on his back.

"My transformation is now complete." Mecha chuckled.

"He doesn't look too different to me." Tails said.

"Really now?" Mecha questioned. Mecha blue eyes glowed and a second later, Tails was forced to the ground by an unknown force. "Next time, you will think twice before insulting your king."

"You're no king!" Silver exclaimed.

Silver summoned up his telekinetic powers, but Mecha somehow reflected them to bounce back on Marine. Marine was now hanging upside-down ten feet in the air.

"Bonza! This is fun!" Marine shouted joyously. Silver, realizing this wasn't working, released his control and allowed Marine to drop. "I'm ok."

"You realize you're powers will do nothing." Mecha proclaimed. "Now witness the most powerful force in the galaxy!"

Mecha gripped the Jeweled Scepter with both claws and raised it to the sky before plummeting back down to the ground. The sky was suddenly covered in dark clouds, the planet began quaking viciously, the volcano began to erupt, and tsunami's threatened to swallow the island whole. And while this happened, the fourteen emeralds began circling around each other under Mecha's control. He had done it. He obtained total control of reality. But Silver wasn't one to agree. With his leg still bleeding, Silver limped over to fight Mecha.

"Silver, no!" Blaze cried; attempting to hold him back. "You can't fight him. He's too powerful."

"Funny, I once said the same thing about Iblis." Silver smiled.

"But this is different." Blaze stated.

"No, it isn't!" Silver argued. "I understand the odds are stacked against me, that there may be a chance that I might die." Silver tugged his arm away from Blaze's grip and stared at her; his brimming with hope. "But...as long as you, Sonic, Amy, and everyone else survives, then it will be something worth dying for."

"Silver..." Blaze whispered.

"What is happening?!" Mecha yelled.

All of a sudden, the world began to restore itself to its proper order. He stared over his head and found that the chaos emeralds were leaving him to join Silver. Silver closed his eyes and focused them to the emeralds that now surrounded him. As if by a miracle, his leg was instantly healed. The positive energies invaded Silver's body and in a great burst of light, Silver became Super Silver.

"What is that, mate?" Marine asked in awe.

"Silver used the emeralds to activate his super form!" Tails cheered.

"Crikey." Marine said in amazement.

"Super Silver, I remember you." Mecha said. "You really think you can defeat me with such insignificant power?"

"Let's find out." Silver grinned.

Using chaos control, Silver teleported in front of Mecha and pounded his face with his fist. Mecha skipped across the water before he was able to catch himself. He expanded his wings and flew into the air across from Silver. Mecha grasped the Jeweled Scepter and ejected a ball of light from its arch. But Silver countered by conjuring a barrier to shield himself. Silver converted at barrier into a ball of psychic energy. Silver threw it, but Mecha swung it away with the Jeweled Scepter. This gave Silver a perfect chance to go on the offense. While Mecha wasn't looking, Silver came up and kicked Mecha to the head, which sent him flying into the side of the volcano.

"I've had enough!" Mecha proclaimed. As Silver came close, the sol emeralds came to his aid. "SOL CONTROL!!"

Seconds before Silver could move; a white vortex appeared and sucked Mecha inside.

"Where'd he go?" Silver questioned.

"I can be anywhere and everywhere." Mecha answered. Silver turned around to come face-to-face with him. "Which is why you can never defeat me."

Mecha drilled his fist into Silver's stomach, forcing him to double over in pain. Mecha brought his fist together and bashed them over Silver's head. Silver plummeted into the ground, creating a crater in his wake. Silver groaned before throwing a wave of psychic energy at Mecha. But the red robot countered with sol control and kicked Silver down the beach. Silver could not fight back and all the others could do was watch.

"C'mon, mate!" Marine screamed. "Fight back! Captain's orders!"

"He can't." Tails reasoned. "As long as Mecha uses the emeralds, Silver can't win."

"This is all my fault." Blaze sobbed. "If I didn't drag Silver into this, he wouldn't have to suffer. I can't lose him." Blaze watched as Mecha kicked Silver to the ground. "Silver!"

"It's over." Mecha proclaimed.

Silver tried to throw another punch, even though he knew it was pointless. But to his and Mecha's surprise, the blow landed. Mecha was thrown down the beach, but jumped back up. When he looked up, he realized what went wrong. The sol emeralds were no longer with him. But instead, they had chosen to join Blaze's side. like the chaos emerald, the sol emeralds filled Blaze with positive energy and released a burst of light.

"How is this possible?" Mecha questioned.

"Blaze..." Silver whispered.

But Blaze was not Blaze anymore. Blaze's fur became bright pink, her jacket and the tip of her tail become red, the cuffs of her gloves and shoes were engulfed in pink flames, and the ring the held her pony tails was gone and allowed her her hair fall down. Blaze the Cat had transformed into Burning Blaze.

"Wow!" Tails and Marine said in awe.

"She's beautiful." Silver said admirably.

"No! That is my power!" Mecha screamed; he raised the Jewled Scepter. "You will return it!"

Mecha swung the Jewled Scepter and released another orb of light. But Blaze remained calm. She held out her hand and halted the orb in midair. With a wave of her hand, the orb bacme a fireball. With a gental tap, the fireball soared at fierce velocity and slammed Mecha in the chest, sending him flying several feet. Blaze hovered over to float near Silver.

"Let's end this." Blaze said as she held out her hand. "Together."

"Together." Silver smiled as he took it.

They shifted their gaze and glared at Mecha. Once back on his feet, he soared into the air in hopes to gain an advantage. But his advantage was lost were Silver and Blaze zoomed past him out of nowhere. Silver crushed one wing his his telekinesis and Blaze burned the other with her flames. Mecha fell unceremoniously on the ground and tried to stand up, but Silver and Blaze dropped in and stomped him into the ground. Silver and Blaze jumped back and saw fit to show some mercy. Mecha weakly stood up and feebly shot a spark of electricity, but it didn't even singe their fur.

"What's the matter? Running out of juice?" Silver chuckled.

"Surrender now." Blaze said strictly. "There is no possible way of defeating us."

"Oh, but there is!" Mecha said insanely. "If I can't win, no one can!" He raised the Jeweled Scepter to the air and the previous plagues from before were beginning to happan again. "I will destroy the planet and you along with it!"

Even Silver and Blaze knew they wouldn't have enough time to stop him as he brought the Scepter down. But just before it touched the ground, an orb of light appeared out of nowhere and knocked it out of his claws. The world returned to normal and Tails caught the Scepter. Everyone diverted their attention to Marine, whose hand was glowing.

"How did you do that?" Tails asked.

"I dunno, mate." Marine scratched her head while looking at her hand.

"No!" Mecha screamed.

"Yes!" Silver cheered.

"It's over!" Blaze proclaimed.

With the sight of victory at hand, Silver and Blaze raised their hands to the sky. Blaze formed a gignatic fireball and Silver increased the intensity of it. It looked as if they were holding the sun in their hands. Mecah froze in fear; unable to move when the two heroes tossed the attack at him. With intensity so great, nothing of Mecha's remained; every bit of him was burned.

"They did it!" Tails and Marine cheered.

"Is it over?" Silver asked uncertainly.

"Yes, it's over." Blaze answered smiling.

The keystone of the Jewled Scepter started to glow and moved away from it's previous place. It floated before Blaze for a moment and then returned to its original position on her forehead. But the moment it touched, the island was suddenly engulfed in a flash of light. When their senses returned, Super Silver and Burning Blaze found themselves in a divided sky. Silver floated in the blue sky and Blaze floated in the green.

"Blaze, what's happeneing?" Silver asked.

"I was afraid of this." Blaze said sadly. "It's time to return home."

"That's great!" Silver cheered. "I can't wait to tell Sonic about this!"

"You don't get it, Silver." Blaze said. "You are going home. I have to remain here."

Silver's happy expression turned to one of great sorrow almost instantly.

"But why?" Silver asked.

"I must stay here to protect the sol emeralds forever." Blaze stated. "It is my curse."

"But what about us?!" Silver exclaimed on the brink of tears. "We promised to always be together! I can't lose you!"

"You won't lose me, Silver." Blaze smiled through the tears. She floated over to him and held her hand over his heart. "I'll always be with you here."

"I love you, Blaze." Silver said.

"I love you, too, Silver." Blaze said.

They drew together for one final kiss. They hearts pounded together for fear that they may never experience this again. Suddenly, a great gust of wind came out of nowhere and started to pull them away. But they refused to let go. They continued to hold each others hands, but the wind didn't let up. Blaze's hand started to slip from Silver's till they where at their fingertips. Then one might gust came around and pushed them apart.

"Blaze!" Silver yelled.

"Good luck, Silver!" Blaze called and everything went black.

* * *

Tails groaned as he suddenly jumped awake. He was back at the Emerald Beach, back to where it all started. At first, he was convince it was a dream. But that was before he noticed Silver looking longingly out into the ocean. Silver stood there, too heartbroken to move. He wanted nothing more then to cry, but couldn't, fearing that Iblis might break free. Tails cautiously walked up to him.

"Silver?" Tails spoke.

"She's gone, Tails." Silver said sadly. "She couldn't come back with us."

"I'm sorry." Tails said apologetically.

"Don't worry, this isn't over." Silver stated. Tails looked confused. "I don't know how or when, but I'm going to find her no matter what."

"As you should." Tails smiled.

"Miles Prower!" Tails looked over and was nearly bulldozed over when Cream came up and started strangling him. "Who is she?"

"Who?" Tails gasped.

"The girl you have been seeing!" Cream screamed. "Who is she?!"

"_She's been spending WAY too much time with Amy._" Silver sweat dropped.

Cream never let Tails out of her sight after that day. But miles down the beach, a lone figure washed up to the shore. It was Marine. She groaned and rubbed her head as she looked at her new enviorment. She had no idea where she was.

"Where am I?" Marine questioned.

"You're on Emerald Beach." Marine looked over and saw a red hedgehog she had never seen before: Recter Rose. "Are you ok?" Marine nodded uncertainly. "Do your parents know you're here?"

"I don't have any, mate." Marine stated.

"Oh, my bad." Recter winced at his mistake. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully then came up with an idea. "Say, why don't you stay with us until we find you a place."

"Thanks, mate!" Marine cheered.

And so, Recter grabbed hold of the tired Raccoon and carried her off to his home and his team. But as they walked away, they did not see the blue sol emerald washing ashore.

* * *

**A happy victory ends in a sad defeat. Will Silver and Blaze ever be reunited? How will Marine handle this new world? And what is the meaning of the sol emeralds arrival? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and reveiw**


	40. The Rascally Raccoon

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Chapter Forty: The Rascally Raccoon

The days following the sol emerald escapade were busy and brutal. The other heroes questioned the disappearance of Blaze, which Silver refused to answer. Cream refused to let Tails out of her sight unless he agreed to go on a date; Tails agreed. The week was used to search for the returned chaos emeralds. Nazo got a head start; having the power to detect the emeralds. Nazo has four emeralds, while Metal and the Heroes each have one.

* * *

The scene opens up to the heart of Station Square to the home of the worlds greatest mercenaries: Team Virtex. Raine was sitting at her desk in her room which was covered in test tubes, beakers, flasks filled with unknown mixtures. She occasionally glancing at the picture of her and Charmy and the flower Charmy got from Espio's home. She was working on a permanent cure for acne when...

"Whatcha doing, mate?" Marine asked; popping up behind Raine.

"Marine!" Raine screamed in surprise.

Marine's sudden appearance caused Raine to spill the contents of a beaker all over herself. A second later, Raine felt hundreds of small bumps on her face and nearly screamed when she looked in the mirror; she was covered in horrid green boils.

"Crikey, you should see a doctor about that." Marine stated.

"They won't have time." Raine seethed. "They'll be dealing with another patient."

"Who?" Marine asked curiously.

"YOU!!" Raine screamed.

Raine grabbed the beakers and threw them at Marine in rage. Marine quickly whipped out of the room and slammed the door behind her; glass breaking behind her.

"Uh...Talk to ya later, mate." Marine said uneasily.

Marine sprinted down the hall and entered Howl's room, which looked something out a Japanese dojo. The doors slid sideways, a variety of weapons mounted on the wall, and several pedestals holding valuable artifacts, Howl sat in the center of the room with his eyes closed in meditation on a large cushion with his sword.

"Welcome, Marine." Howl greeted without looking.

"How'd ya know it was me, mate?" Marine asked surprised.

"I have a heighten sense of smell and hearing." Howl explained. "Your footsteps were small and Raine flies, so it was clearly you. Can I help you with something?"

"Just taking a look." Marine stated as she wondered into the dojo. Her eyes scanned curiously at a jade wolf statue on one of the pedestals. "What's this?"

"Huh?" Howl opened his and smiled. "That my families greatest treasure. It was a symbol created by my ancestors during the Feudal Era. They carved it as a mark of leadership and honor."

"_I have no idea what he said._" Marine thought.

Marine yawned at Howl's long and boring story, stretching her arms out. Unfortunately, one of her arms hit the jade wolf and knocked it off its pedestal. Howl screamed in panic and nearly jumped when Marine's hands shot out to catch it. Howl sighed in relief.

"That would have made a mess, eh, mate?" Marine giggled.

Marine replaced the statue back on its pedestal and turned to smile at Howl. But as luck would have it, Marine's tail swiped at the pedestal and knocked the statue off again. This time, it hit the ground and smashed into hundreds of pieces. Howl stood up stunned; his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open.

"How – what – I – but – Marine!" Howl sputtered.

"Uh...see ya, mate!" Marine said quickly.

Marine shot out the door. Meanwhile, the scene changes to Recter's room. It looked normal; having only a bookcase, a desk, and a couple of pictures of his family and team hanging on the wall. Recter sat at his desk, his legs propped on top, talking over the phone while gazing at the white chaos emerald in his hand.

"So you think you'll be able to pick it up tomorrow, Amy?" Recter asked over the phone. "Let's just hope Nazo doesn't show up again. I still have the scars from last time." Recter paused to let Amy speak. "Ok, see ya tomorrow."

Recter hung up the phone. Just then, his door swung wide open with Raine and Howl on the other side. Raine's head was covered in bandages and Howl was sobbing over a pile of rubble in his hands as they made their way to his desk.

"I've had enough!" Raine screamed; slamming her fist on the desk. "Marine has got to go!"

"What's this about?" Recter questioned.

"She ruined by face and broke Howl's statue!" Raine proclaimed; Howl broke out in a new wave of tears.

"Guys, take it easy. She's new here." Recter said coolly. "Raine, you're the world's greatest medic. I'm sure you can think of something. And Howl; I'm sure we could get Knuckles to mend it. He's a specialist at that sort of thing."

"You're not upset about Marine being here?" Howl questioned.

"Why would I be?" Recter chuckled.

"Hey, mates, I think you're lettuce has gone bad." Marine said as she stuck her head into the room.

"We don't have any lettuce." Recter said confused.

"Then what's this?" Marine asked.

Marine held out her hand and held a bundle of chewed up greens. To Recter's horror, he found that the 'lettuce' was actually the money they had collected from all their mercenary missions. Raine and Howl took great pleasure in Recter's furious expression.

"You were saying?" Howl said amusingly.

"GET HER!!" Recter screamed.

"AHH!" Marine cried.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Dark Ruler's dimension. Nazo sat upon his throne with Mephiles, Shira, and Black Doom gathered around the chess board that represented them. While Mephiles and Shira were enthralled with each other, Black Doom floated around Nazo with a look of sheer irritation.

"How much longer must we wait?" Black Doom questioned.

"We must plan ahead before act." Nazo said coolly.

"But with four emeralds in our possession, we would hold an advantage against our adversaries." Mephiles stated, looking away from Shira. "Now we have the power to defeat Metal Sonic."

"But first, we must deal with another problem." Nazo informed. "I have discovered that Team Virtex is planning to transfer a chaos emerald to the heroes. We must intercept it before they do."

"Then let's go and take it." Shira suggested.

"No! we cannot risk it." Nazo stated. "I could defeat them, but it would require the use of my Hell Form."

"But you have the emeralds." Mephiles informed. "They should numb the side effects of your transformation."

"Even so, I would rather not risk the heroes interference." Nazo said seriously. "That is why Shira will be going alone."

"What?! Why me?!" Shira exclaimed.

"The heroes do not know of your existence." Nazo explained. "And this will be your chance to actually prove yourself worthwhile. I only accepted you upon Mephiles request."

"But..." Shira trembled.

"Shira, you can do this." Mephiles said thoughtfully; taking her hand into his own. "You are intelligent and skillful. You will be able to take that emerald with ease."

"All right, I'll do it..." Shira sighed; gazing lovingly into Mephiles' eyes. "...for you, Mephiles."

"_Truly sickening." _Black Doom thought.

* * *

Back at Team Virtex base, Marine barricaded herself in the guest room where she slept. Marine leaned against the window sill, gazing out into the night sky. It was hard to believe that only a week ago, she was living the carefree days on her island, working on her boat. Her attention was brought back to reality were her stomach started to rumble.

"That 'mooney' didn't taste good and now I'm hungry." Marine rubbed her empty belly. "I wonder where the food is."

Marine tossed aside the stuff blocking the door and cracked it open to make sure it was safe. She looked down the hall left and right before stepping outside. Knowing the others were still in a bad mood, she tiptoed quietly along the wall. It looked like she was in the clear until...

"This Marine situation is getting out of hand."

That was Recter and he was talking about her. Marine peered into the open door of Recter's room, where Howl and Raine were standing in front of his desk.

"She destroys everything she touches." Howl stated.

"She barges in without permission." Raine proclaims.

"I never expected Marine to be this way." Recter admits. "If I had, I never would have brought her here in the first place."

Marine could not believe what she was hearing. Recter and the others were talking about getting rid of her. Tears were streaming down the side of her face. She was starting to wish she had never left her room.

"What do we do with her?" Howl asked.

"Tomorrow, Amy is coming to pick up the chaos emerald." Recter informed; though he didn't look to happy with himself. "We'll ask her to take Marine and hope for the best."

"Why don't I save you the trouble, mate!" The trio shot around to the door, now realizing Marine was there. "If you didn't want me here, you should have told me! I don't need you! I don't need anyone!"

Before they could say anything, Marine zoomed down the hall and out the door. Recter leaped over his desk in hopes of catching her before she escaped. Howl and Raine followed, feeling guilty about what happened. Recter ran out the door and jumped over the rails to land in the street. Recter watched hopeful for any sign of her, but with all the noise, lights, and people, it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Howl and Raine jumped/flew down to join him.

"Where is she?" Raine asked worriedly.

"I don't know." Howl said; taking a quick sniff at the air. "There are too many scents in the air and it's too loud to hear her footsteps."

"We'll have to split up." Rector instructed. "Raine, you look from the skies. Howl, sniff out Marine the first chance you get. I'll look down the streets. When you find her, head back to base immediately." Howl and Raine nodded in understanding. "_Marine, please be safe._"

Recter and Howl ran in opposite directions while Raine flew upwards. Unknown to them, a pair of green eyes were watching from the shadows. Raine loomed over the city streets with eyes like a hawk. Twice she thought she saw Marine, only to find that they were regular raccoons. Howl was also mislead and ran into a terrible dilemma; having unknowingly walked into a women's washroom. Recter was searching every abandoned street within ten blocks and now headed for the eleventh. Recter couldn't shake off the feeling that he was being followed.

"Who's out there?" Recter questioned. The street was completely deserted, but the silence was unnerving. Recter began to turn when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. "All right, I know you're there! Come out now!"

"I'm sorry." Shira said as she stepped into the open. "I got nervous. After all, You're Recter Rose, the famous leader of Team Virtex."

"What are you doing here?" Recter asked.

"You were shouting for someone and I though I could help." Shira lied.

"I'm looking for my friend, Marine." Recter explained. "She's a raccoon, eight years old, about this high." Holds his hand up to his chest. "She's wearing a green shirt and black shorts."

"I've seen her." Shira said.

"Really? Where?" Recter asked eagerly.

"Right over there." Shira behind him.

Rector turned around sharply in hopes of finding Marine, but only found an empty street. With his back turned, Shira saw this as an opportunity to strike. She pulled out a dagger from her pants pocket. She raised it over her head and swiped down to Recter's back. But thankfully, he was watching her shadow on the wall and twirled around to catch her by her wrist.

"Who are you?" Recter growled.

"The name's Shira." Shira introduced with a smirk. "You probably heard of my boyfriend, Mephiles."

"Ok, that is creepy beyond words." Recter said disgustedly.

"You wouldn't understand love." Shira said irritably.

"What is it that you really want?" Recter questioned.

"Oh, nothing." Shira said innocently. "Just...your chaos emerald."

"You'll have to pry it from my cold dead hands." Recter stated.

"That can be arranged." Shira grinned.

Shira tugged on her arm, but Recter refused to let go. Suddenly, Shira placed on of her feet on his chest and flipped up to kick him in the chin. This forced Recter to let go and rubbed his chin. Once on her feet, Shira twirled around and kicked the male hedgehog to the chest, landing him in a pile of garbage.

"Did I forget to mention I've taken six years of jujitsu and lessons from Tomo?" Shira said.

"You might have." Recter said; pulling a dead fish from his teeth.

Shira jumped up and swung her leg around, but Recter raised his arm to block. The female hedgehog planted her hands on the ground and swung her legs in the other direction. But Recter dropped to the ground and saw an opportunity. Pulling of a rather difficult flip, Recter swung his legs and swept Shira off her hands. Good news: she flipped back to her feet. Bad news: Recter grabbed her by her shoulder and pinned her to the wall. He raised his fist to strike when...

"Wait!" Shira shouted. "You wouldn't hit a girl, would you?"

Recter froze. She was right, he couldn't hit a girl; he was too chivalrous. Shira took her chances and kicked Recter in the crown jewels. Recter took a sharp intake of oxygen and fell to the ground, holding himself. Shira chuckled while reaching into his quills and pulling out the white chaos emerald.

"That was hilarious!" Shira laughed loudly. "One of the world's strongest men can't even hit a girl!"

"He can't, but I can!"

Shira turned around, just as a trash can lid slammed against her face. Shira was thrown into a pile of garbage, forcing her to release the emerald. Recter weakly stood up and, to his surprise, found Marine, playing with the emerald.

"Marine!" Recter cried, moving forward to embrace her. "I was so worried about you."

"Why?" Marine asked in a surprised tone.

"Marine, it was wrong of me to say those things." Recter said as they parted. "I was so angry, but I can't blame it on you. I need to remember that your only a kid and your new to our world. I may not know you much, but I do know that you are very important to me."

"Thanks, mate." Marine said; wiping a tear from her eyes.

"This is so unsanitary." Shira said; wiping the muck off her.

"What do we do, mate?" Marine asked.

"I can't fight her, but you can." Recter said with a grin. "Just follow my moves and you should do all right."

"You in for in now, kid." Shira proclaimed.

Shira charged forward with her fist raised. Marine watched Recter slide to the right and did the same. She was amazed how easy it was to dodge. She saw Recter swing his foot and did the same, hitting Shira in the gut. Shira growled in frustration and charged headlong. Marine continued to follow Recter's movements until they were in perfect sync. Shira was becoming frustrated and swiped randomly. But Marine, following Recter's moves, avoided them with ease until finally sweeping down to knock Shira off her feet.

"Now for the final blow!" Recter exclaimed.

"Bonza!" Marine cheered.

Recter, followed by Marine, reeled back their fists to strike. But as Marine was about to contact with Shira, a purple oozing claw grabbed her wrist. Marine looked up to find she had been caught by Mephiles.

"Crikey!" Marine screamed.

"Now it's my turn to have some fun." Mephiles sniggered. He lifted Marine by her arm and threw her into the garbage. Recter was set to attack, but Mephiles held out his claw, forming a dark barrier to trap him. "You stay. I'll deal with you in a moment.

"That hurt." Marine said, rubbing her sore head.

"And It's only going to get worse." Mephiles said as he loomed over her. "Now...hand over the chaos emerald." Instead, Marine spat in his face. "Big mistake!"

Mephiles kneeled down and wrapped his claw around Marine's neck. Marine gasped as her oxygen started to leave her lungs. Recter was punching at the barrier to escape while Shira watched. Marine was panting heavily, her vision becoming blurry. Without knowing why, she placed her hand to Mephiles' chest. To everyone's surprise, an orb of green light shot out of her hand and sent Mephiles flying. Mephiles was splattered against the wall, releasing the barrier and dropping Marine, who was unconscious.

"Marine!" Recter yelled. He kneeled down to her and placed a finger on her wrist. He was relieved when she still a pulse. "Good. She's still alive.

"Not for long." Mephiles said as he reformed.

Recter stepped in front of Marine to defend her as Mephiles advanced. But in a stunning turn of events, Mephiles dropped to his knees and clutched his chest in agony.

"Mephiles!" Shira cried.

"I-I can't - fight." Mephiles said hoarsely. "M-must retreat."

Shira understood and grabbed Mephiles' arm to carry over her shoulder. Mephiles weakly held out his claw and produced a sphere of purple chaos. He raised the sphere above them and vanished within it. Rector had no idea what happened or where they went. All that matter was that he found Marine and she was safe. He picked up her unconscious form and trudged back to the base.

* * *

Marine woke up the next day, which she acknowledged as her last day with the team. She packed all her stuff, which were only her fishing rod and ship blueprints. As she walked out the door, she looked at the room she could have called home before closing it shut. She trudged down to Recter's room sadly and walked inside, where she found Howl and Raine with him at his desk.

"When is she coming?" Marine asked; her voice breaking.

"You missed her." Howl grinned. "She just left."

"Huh? She left?" Marine questioned. "But what about me?"

"What about you?" Raine repeated.

"I thought you were going to send me away with her, mate." Marine said.

"I guess we just...forgot." Raine said deviously. "Now you should get some rest. After last night, you're going to need all your strength for this evening's mission."

"Mission?" Marine asked curiously.

"Didn't we tell you?" Recter said. "We took a vote last night and came to a unanimous decision." Recter stood out of his chair to look at her directly. "Marine, we have decided to make you an official member of Team Virtex."

Marine screamed for joy, dropping all her things on the ground. She ran to Recter and leapt over the desk to knock him to the ground. Marine was crying again, but with tears of happiness. The team had accepted her and now she had a place to call home.

"I think she likes the idea." Howl stated.

"Maybe a little too much." Raine said when she noticed Recter's face turning a deep shade of purple.

When Marine realized what she was doing, she let go to allow Recter to breath.

"Thanks." Recter chuckled. "Now get you stuff and unpack."

"Gotcha." Marine saluted. She turned to the door when...

"Hold it. I got something for you." Recter said suddenly. Marine look of curiosity turned to one of great surprise when Recter presented her with an amazing treasure: the blue sol emerald. "I found it the day after we met on the beach. I thought you might want it."

"Thanks, mate." Marine said softly as she took the emerald into her hands.

After a moment to get over the shock, Marine gathered her stuff off the floor and skipped down the hall, humming a happy tune, towards the guest room, or should we say, _her_ room. She barged into the room and flung her stuff in every direction before flopping down on her bed.

"Bonza! I can't believe I get to stay!" Marine cheered joyously. She held up the sol emerald and gazed appreciatively at the reflecting surface. "_Blaze...thanks for watching over me, mate._"

Marine sat up almost instantly and reached deep into her shirt to pull out a piece of paper. It was a picture of her and Blaze five years ago before she left. Marine walked over to the desk and set I down next to a framed picture of her standing on a beach with her new family: Team Virtex

* * *

**There is a home for everyone and Marine found hers. What new, exciting adventures await her? And how did she recieve these unknown powers? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	41. Two for One

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Chapter Forty-One: Two for One

Today was actually a dull day for our heroes. Eggman was gone for a week because he decided to take a vacation. Before leaving, he left Bokkun in charge of the black clones. He must have been drunk. They had at least expected Nazo to send a monster to steal them emeralds from them, but nothing of the sort happened. Nazo was up to something

The scene starts out at the Sonic Heroes base. Kumori was sitting on the couch in front of the TV; her brain rotting from watching three hours of mindless commercials. Then Amy walked in.

"Hey, Kumori, have you seen..." Amy began when she noticed Kumori's stupefied expression. "Hello! Anyone in there?!"

But Kumori remained impassive. She was so bored from the lack of action, she felt as if she could die on the spot. She was watching a commercial for deodorant when the set was crushed by a giant hammer. Kumori snapped back to reality instantly.

"That's the fourth one you've destroyed this week." Kumori sighed; picking up the broken set and threw it in a closet filled with other broken televisions. "Is there a reason you're destroying property...again."

"Yes!" Amy snapped. "I've been looking for Sonic all day and I can't find him anywhere!"

"Sonic?" Kumori scratched her head in thought. "Oh yeah! He left with Shadow hours ago."

"What?!" Amy screamed. "But he promised we would spend the day together! When I get my hands on him, he's dead meat! What could be more important then spending quality time with me?!"

"I have no idea." Kumori said nervously; even she wasn't dumb enough to argue with Amy when she's mad. "_But it is strange. They took the chaos emeralds with them. I wonder what they're up to._"

* * *

The scene changes to a mountainous region surround by a forest. Sudden, a ray of light shined miles into the forest. The light turned into a nuclear explosion that wiped out everything within a three mile radius. A crater formed in its place; Sonic and Shadow standing in the center. They panted heavily from exhaustion, clutching the green and white emeralds in there hands.

"Hey - Shad." Sonic gasped. "Do – you think – we could – take a break?"

"No." Shadow groaned; the muscles in his legs were contracting. "No, we have to keep working."

"If we keep this up..." Sonic hissed; his arm was starting to shake violently. "Who knows what'll happen."

"Do you want to stop Nazo or not?" Shadow asked, rubbing his shoulder blade.

Shadow did have a point. The only way they had been able to defeat Nazo was if he became Dark Sonic. Sonic had only transformed into Dark Sonic three times. But turning into a cold-blooded murderer was not something Sonic wished to live through again. If they could complete their training, he would never what to the scared looks on his friends faces again.

"All right..." Sonic sighed. "Let's go again."

* * *

The scene returns to the Sonic Heroes base. Kumori tried to find some other way to spend the day. She had somehow managed to dismantle the Tornado III by simply touching it, but put it back together in a flash. There were some extra parts though. Maybe Tails won't notice. Amy was in the kitchen preparing lunch, still upset at Sonic. Maybe she could torture him by eating the food and not giving him any. Everyone knows Sonic loves Amy's cooking. While Amy fantasized, a video screen appeared out with the commander on.

"Amy, we have a mission for you." The Commander informed.

"A mission?!" Kumori said eagerly as she bounded into the kitchen. "What mission? Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!"

"Calm down." The commander ordered. "Anyway, there's trouble going on in Station Square. Reports have shown that black creatures are attacking the city."

"It must be the black clones." Kumori said thoughtfully.

"That's what I thought, too." The Commander said. "But then I received a report that the creatures were different from each other."

"Different? How?" Amy asked.

"That's what you have to find out." The commander said.

"Finally, some action!" Kumori cheered.

"We should be careful." Amy forewarned. "We don't know what we're going up against."

"Whatever." Kumori waved off.

To eager for battle to listen to Amy, Kumori raced out of the base with Amy following. Using their super speed, the two arrived in the city seconds later. Though it did come as a surprise when they didn't find any sign of trouble. The people were running about like they did everyday with out a care in the world.

"That's strange." Amy said. "I don't see any trouble around here."

"He lied to us!" Kumori exclaimed. "What a gyp!"

"What's that sound?" Amy said; hearing twitching slightly.

Kumori focused her abilities to her ears to hear what Amy was hearing. It was faint, but she could make it out. It sounded like...stone breaking. Just then, the wall of a building close by erupted. A figure zoomed out of the hole and collided with the ground; a crater formed in its wake. The people had finally realized the danger going on and quickly ran away, screaming frantically. Kumori and Amy moved in cautiously towards the crater. The figure could be seen in the cloud of dust starting to rise. When the dust cleared, they were not surprised to find a black clone.

"I knew it!" Kumori exclaimed. "Eggman is behind this."

"But I though he went on vacation." Amy stated.

"Evil doesn't take a break." Kumori grinned.

The female hedgehogs moved in, but the clone did not seem to care. Just then, A black warrior stormed out where the clone came from with its sword raised high. The warrior swung down on the clone, but the clone caught it between his claws. But to the female's dismay, several more clones and warriors jumped in to fight with their brothers.

"The Black Arms!" Amy exclaimed. "What are they doing here?"

"Obviously, they don't like fakers." Kumori replied.

Amy seemed uncertain, but distantly watched the battle before them. Having sleek bodies and regenerative powers, the black clones held an advantage over the aliens. A warrior sliced a clone's arm off, which regenerated a second later. The clones relied on their acrobatic skills to slip around the warriors and stab them from behind. But the Black Arms are an intelligent race. They observed their opponents before figuring a way of defeating them. They cut at the clones cores, which resided in their heads. If either side had blood, it would be splattered all over the ground.

"What do we do?" Amy asked.

"Personally, I'm hoping the clones kick their butts!" Kumori cheered. "Come on! Give them a left hook! No, your other left!"

Just then, a surge of lightning and a red ball of chaos swooped in out of nowhere, destroying both side in an instant. Amy and Kumori stood dumbstruck and confused. A wave of lightning dispersed out of the ground and reformed into Metal Sonic, who looked gravely injured. His armor was dented, one of his eyes was offline, and his entire left arm was torn off. A black hole formed on the ground and Nazo emerged from it, unscratched.

"Nazo!" The females yelled.

"Oh, I did not expect you here." Nazo said to them. "But this does not concern you." He turned towards Metal. "Understand this, Metal Sonic. No matter how long you resist, you can't do it forever."

"I still have the strength to fight." Metal stated.

"How can you fight in your damaged state?" Nazo questioned.

"Think about it. Why did I retreat here, to this city?" Metal questioned. Nazo glared, obviously not having the answer. "When I discovered my natural affinity for electricity, I experimented. I was grateful to discover I have another ability. Observe."

Metal held his undamaged claw and raised it to a nearby lamppost. Electricity escaped from the post and into Metal's claw. The addition of electricity began to reform Metal's body. The dents were refilled, his eye replaced, and his arm restored. Metal stood up, examining his healed body with admiration.

"I must say, I am impressed." Nazo said amusingly.

"My body can restore itself by taking in a certain amount of electrical energy." Metal explained. "That's why I escaped into the city. As long as I remain here, I can't be destroyed."

"I wouldn't go that far." Nazo said. "Although I must admit, you have grown considerably since our last encounter. Your power is equal to that of my standard form. But, how powerful you truly are.

Nazo crouched into a fighter's stance as a vast aura of red chaos formed around him. The aura engulfed his body, transforming his normally silver fur to blood red. The iris of his eyes turned yellow, two more quills were added to his head, his shoes became gold and black boots, and the spines turned to an 'x' shape. Amy and Kumori were stunned in horror at the monstrous creature. They soon realized it was the same form that nearly killed Sonic and Shadow.

"I believe this is the first time we battle like this." Nazo said amusingly. "In this form, you may refer to me as Hell Nazo."

"I observed you previous battle against the heroes." Metal stated. "I know for a fact that your body is destroyed internally when in that form."

"That may be true, but that as before I found a way to transfer the pain." Nazo sniggered. Just then, the red, light-blue, yellow, and purple chaos emeralds floated around Nazo. Four strands of red chaos was expelled from his body and consumed by the emeralds. "With the emeralds on my side, I cannot possibly lose. Now return what you stole from me."

"Hand what over?" Amy whisper to Kumori.

"I think he might be talking about the chaos emerald." Kumori replied.

"You think I would be dimwitted as to hand 'that' over." Metal chuckled. "No, with 'that' at my side, I am closer to world domination then Eggman ever dreamed."

"Don't be a fool!" Nazo shouted. "You cannot possibly understand the kind of power it possesses!"

"I have a fair idea." Metal said.

"Ok, Maybe it's not the emerald." Kumori said uncertainly.

Nazo was furious and raced forward at Metal. If Metal could barely equal to Nazo at ten percent power, he stands no chance against him at fifty percent. Metal thrusted his claw at Nazo's head, but the demon vanished from sight. Metal seemed lost until Nazo came up from behind and kicked him in the head. Metal bounced off the ground before twisting around back to his feet. Metal attempted to use his speed to his advantage, but Nazo was already in front of him before he could even take his first step.

"If Sonic couldn't out run me, what chance do you have?" Nazo smirked.

Nazo kneed Metal in the chest, sending in to a wall twelve feet away. Metal pried himself from the wall, staggering slightly. Nazo was right. He was faster, stronger, and more knowledgeable then any living thing on the planet. He only had one chance left. Metal grasped his claw and drew energy to perform his signature technique.

"METAL SURGE!!"

Metal raced forward at top speed with his electrified claw held forward. Nazo seemed to be caught off guard by this, having never witnessed Metal's signature attack before. This provided Metal with an advantage. Metal reached at plunged his claw through Nazo's chest. Nazo's eyes opened wide in shock before his head fell limp. Metal, laughing victoriously, raised Nazo's dead body over his head like a trophy.

"The mighty God of Darkness is dead!" Metal stated. "Now I am the most powerful warrior in the world!"

"Don't be so sure."

Metal looked up in shock; Nazo gazing back down at him. The supposedly dead demon ripped swung his arm around to cut Metal's arm off again. Metal staggered back slightly; tripping backwards in fright. Nazo grabbed Metal's arm, which remained caught in his chest, and tore it from his body. The wound that metal created healed five seconds later.

"You really thought you stood a chance against me." Nazo chuckled lightly, throwing the arm away. He made his way menacingly towards his shaking opponent. "I have survived the greatest wars, endured three-thousand years of imprisonment. I have more power then you have ever dreamed of. And now, to reclaim what is mine."

Nazo held his hand out to Metal as he came closer. Meanwhile, Amy and Kumori stared horrifically at the outcome of the battle.

"We have to help him!" Amy cried.

"But he's the enemy!" Kumori stated.

"Who would you rather win: Nazo or Metal?" Amy questioned.

"I see your point." Kumori nodded.

Amy pulled out her Piko-Piko Hammer and zoomed towards Nazo with Kumori following. Nazo started to close the gap between him and his pray; his hand reaching out for his head. Suddenly, Amy's hammer and Kumori's foot came flying in and slammed into both sides of his face. But he didn't even flinch. On the contrary, he seemed rather annoyed. He shifted his gaze around towards the females, creating a huge gust of wind from out of nowhere that blew them twenty feet down the street.

"You simpletons thought such feeble attempts would defeat me?" Nazo glared. "You have disturbed me long enough. Now if you'll..." As he turned back, he found that Metal had escaped that split second he looked away. "You damn rodents! He was mine and you allowed him to escape! That will be your last mistake!"

Nazo raised his palm to the female hedgehog, forming a large orb of red chaos. Amy and Kumori tried to move away until a surge of electricity struck them from the ground. Metal left them a going away present. Nazo released the orb, which now overshadowed them. Amy shut eyes, hoping death would come painlessly. But instead of a cold death, it felt..."

"_Warm._" Amy thought.

You ok, Ames?"

Amy eyes swift snapped open. She was in Sonic's arms, safe from danger. She looked over to see Kumori in a similar position in Shadow's arms. The heroes set the females down, wincing slightly. It was then Amy noticed the state they were in. Sonic was covered is bruises, his lip bleeding, and had a big black eye. Shadow as also in a similar state, but handled it better.

"Sonic, what happened to you?" Amy asked worriedly.

"No worries, Amy." Sonic smiled. "Nothing I can't handle."

"What are you rats doing here?" Nazo sniggered. "By the looks of you, it's amazing you even made it."

"Yeah, well, we got a little surprise for you." Sonic grinned.

"Sonic, don't!" Amy cried. "If Metal couldn't beat him..."

"Amy, just trust me." Sonic said.

Sonic's gaze was the only thing that softened Amy. It was the kind of look that gave her reason to believe it him. It was the same look he gave when he promised to protect her all those years ago. Finally, Amy let him go.

You ready for this, Sonic?" Shadow asked as he stepped forward.

"Ready when you are, Shad." Sonic replied.

Sonic and Shadow pulled out their respective emeralds from their quills. The emeralds began to glow brighter then they ever have as the two hedgehogs link their arms together and called out.

"CHAOS FUSION!!"

A burst of light emitted from the emerald, engulfing the hedgehogs in their presence. Amy and Kumori covered their eyes while Nazo stared apprehensively. When the light faded, the two hedgehogs were replaced by one. He had a similar structure to the two, but his fur was dark-blue. He had six contour quills like Sonic, but had red highlights. He also had Shadow's white chest fur on his own. He wore Sonic's sneakers, but had Shadow's ring cuffs.

"Who are you?" Nazo asked. "Are you Sonic or Shadow?"

"The name's Shadic!" The new hedgehog introduced.

"You can pull whatever trick you like." Nazo growled. "But you are only delaying the inevitable."

Nazo held out his hand to fire another attack when Shadic's knee bounded in his chest. Nazo was thrown back half a mile and slammed through six office building before catching himself. Nazo used chaos control to return to the previous area, seething with anger.

"T_hey have truly learned the power of chaos fusion._" Nazo thought. "_But I bet they don't know its side effect. I'll just ride this one out._"

Nazo formed his chaos blade around his right hand and lunged at Shadic. Even Nazo had to admit that Shadic was clearly the fastest. The fused hedgehog disappeared and reappeared behind Nazo seconds after he jumped. Shadic grasped Nazo by his ankle and threw him backward. Nazo flipped around and landed on his feet, just before Shadic's fist collided his face. Nazo fell to his knees, clutching his face in agony.

"That all?" Shadic smirked. "Come on, I thought you were tougher then that."

"Damn you!!" Nazo screamed.

Nazo called forth a barrage of chaos spears behind him. but at the same time, Shadic also summoned up a horde of chaos spears. Shadic's spears collided with Nazo's, but easily overpowered them and hit Nazo square in the chest. Nazo hissed from the pain, but weakly stood up. Then he realized something: he was in pain, his healing powers weren't working.

"_His powers have reached a level where it is impossible for me to heal._" Nazo thought. "_But no matter. Three minutes have already passed. Just a little longer._"

Nazo summoned up his chaos blade again, but Shadic's foot kicked in the chest before anything else. Shadic flipped around, kicked Nazo in the chin and sending him flying to the air. Shadic jumped up in the air, passing Nazo on the way up until he reached the clouds. Shadic curled into a ball and shot down for Nazo. The meteoric spin dash made contact with Nazo and slammed him into the ground, creating a crater the size of Babylon. Shadic flipped out of the crater and gazed down. Amy and Kumori joined by his side, where they found Nazo's body lying motionlessly.

"Is it over?" Amy asked.

"If that didn't finish him, then nothing will." Shadic chuckled.

"Then you could consider me immortal."

Shadic and the females gasped horribly as Nazo started lifting himself back up to his feet. He looked worse then he's ever been. One of his eyes was bleeding, his right leg was shaking, and two of his spines seemed to be snapped. But what amazed them most was that Nazo was able to smile after all that.

"Doesn't he ever give up?" Kumori moaned.

"I must admit, you have even more power then I imagined, Shadic." Nazo stated. "But even so, you still failed to defeat me."

"We'll take care of that!" Shadic proclaimed.

Shadic ran in and full speed and raised his hand to summon a sonic wind into his palm. Shadic neared the attack to Nazo face when he suddenly felt weak. The sonic wind was dispersed and Shadic's body began to glow. A second later, Sonic and Shadow were back to their original forms. Nazo saw this as a chance and bashed his fists into their chest, forcing them to release the chaos emeralds. Sonic and Shadow fell backwards as Nazo took their emeralds.

"I–I don't understand." Shadow said weakly. "What went wrong?"

"Obviously you don't know all the powers of the emeralds." Nazo smirked. "Chaos fusion is a failed technique. It boosts your powers, but it only lasts for five minutes. When the fusion is released, the users experiences pain beyond measure."

"How – do you know all that?" Sonic asked.

"It won't matter in a moment." Nazo stated.

Nazo released one of the emerald and held his palm to them. Just as Nazo was ready to kill them, Chaos appeared though the power of chaos control. Nazo did not look pleased.

"_What are you doing here, Chaos?_" Nazo said in a language only they could understand.

"_You can't kill Sonic._" Chaos stated. "_If you do, you will regret it._"

"_And why is that?_" Nazo asked.

"_Look at his eyes._" Chaos said. "_Do they remind you of anything?_"

Nazo averted his gaze to stare at Sonic. He didn't understand. What was the point of looking into his enemy's eyes? They were the same shade of jade they had always been. Ambitious, courageous, loyal, and a certain sense of pride. That's when it hit him.

"_That's impossible!_" Nazo exclaimed. "_He's supposed to be dead!_"

Chaos saw an opportunity. He performed a hand sign and formed a black swirl in his claw. He held it to Nazo, silently shouting. "Chaos seal." Six multi-colored rings appeared on Nazo's arms, legs, neck, and right spine. The rings tightened to send a wave of pain coursing through his body, forcing him to release the green emerald. See as how he stood no chance at this state, Nazo evaporated into the air, taking the five emeralds with him.

* * *

Later, Amy, Kumori, and Chaos help bring Sonic and Shadow back into the base. They were placed in the infirmary where Wave and Tails were bandaging them up. Luckily, they were as bad as the last time. Hearing about the battle, all the remaining heroes gathered around Sonic and Shadow's beds. Even Tikal and Chaos joined them.

"What was that all about?" Sonic asked. "How did he know all that about chaos fusion?"

"It's as if he knew the emeralds inside and out." Shadow stated.

"That's because he does." Tikal said before she could stop herself.

Tikal clamped her mouth shut, hoping no one had heard. But they had heard and were now staring at her with questioning expressions. Tikal looked to Chaos for help. The aquatic god spoke in a language only they understood,; Tikal looked startled.

"Are you sure?" Tikal asked. Chaos nodded. "Ok, then. It's time we tell them the truth."

"What truth?" Silver asked.

"It's time you learned the truth about the creation of Nazo and the emeralds." Tikal answered

* * *

**The truth comes out. How did Nazo and the emeralds come to be? What did Nazo see in Sonic? And what was it that Metal stole from him? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	42. The Beginning

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Tomo belongs to Kiba Sniper

Chapter Forty-Two: The beginning

After hearing Tikal's promise to reveal the secret of Nazo and the emeralds, the other heroes were eager. But Tikal told them that they wouldn't tell until Sonic and Shadow were healed. Sonic tried countless times to prove that he was fine, only to fall on his face three seconds later. After three days, Sonic and Shadow were finally released.

"Finally, I thought you were gonna be in there forever!" Vector exclaimed.

"Not like we wanted to be there." Shadow said.

"Please excuse him." Espio said. "Vector was never one for patience."

"Yeah, let's not forget that laundry incident." Jet smirked.

"You wanna go, birdbrain!" Vector yelled; his fist raised.

Bring it, crockpot!" Jet yelled

That was the final straw. Vector body slammed Jet, who retaliated by kicking. The others tried to separate them, but got hit and soon joined in the fight. They only stopped when Knuckles walked into the room. He stared at the unusual pileup before saying.

"Tikal wants us in the presence of the Master Emerald."

Not bothering to ask questions, the group separated and followed Knuckles through the door. They walked past Tails workshop and into the storage room which contained treasures of their previous adventures. Their only emerald rested in its container while the Master Emerald rested in the center of the room where Tikal and Chaos waited. Chaos gestured the heroes to gather around and sat down.

"Before we begin, there is something you must know about the Master Emerald." Tikal said. "You see, the Master Emerald is not from this world or even this dimension."

"What?!" The heroes exclaimed.

"Then where did it come from?" Storm asked.

"Chaos has told me it come from his home world, Parasiden" Tikal said.

"Where's Parsiden?" Sonic asked.

"It's a world that's long been dead." Tikal said sadly. "It's also where our story begins."

As she broke, she rounded off to Chaos, who nodded. Chaos turned to the Master Emerald and waved his hand to it. The massive green gem suddenly dispersed several smaller strings of energy. The strings swept and pierced the heroes through their foreheads. They didn't feel pain, but felt the room vanished in a wave of black.

* * *

Their senses returned to them as the heroes found themselves in a place far from where they were. They were standing in a green field filled with a beautiful arrangement of flowers and trees not found on Earth. Not far from the, the Master Emerald levitated in the air, barely touching the grass.

**"Where are we?" Charmy asked.**

**"This is Parasiden in Chaos' memory." Tikal explained**

"Hey! There he is!" A heated voice called.

"Quick, Heat, don't let him get away!" A younger voice said.

The heroes looked to the direction of the voice. They saw a chao happily flying across the plain being followed by the creature called Heat. Heat looked almost exactly like chaos, but his body was made entirely of fire. The turned around and stuck its tongue out playfully at him, not realizing it was running into a tree. The chaos flopped while Heat shook his head.

"You really now how to cause trouble, don't you, cheese?" Heat said amusingly.

**"Cheese?!" Everyone exclaimed.**

**"Is that..." Cream whispered.**

**"Yes, Cream." Tikal answered. "That chaos is the same one you're holding."**

Cream looked between the two chao's. It was hard to believe they were the same one. Their attention was redirected when two new creatures appeared. The first was instantly recognized as Chaos, but the second was new to them. The new creature looked exactly like the other two, but was composed of lightning and spoke in a female voice.

"I can't believe you two got outsmarted by a chao." The lightning creature said.

"You're one to talk, Lightra." Chaos said amusingly. "Remind me, who was it that let him have candy fruit in the first place."

"That's beside the point." Lightra said embarrassingly. "The point is, we are supposed to be waiting for Eise."

"Obsiden's coming, too" Heat stated. "But you will probably be too busy cuddling Eise to notice."

Chaos and Heat let out a hysterical laugh and high-five each other; taking pleasure in Lightra's flustered expression. Suddenly, the atmosphere fell surprisingly cold and a dome of earth emerged from the Earth. The dome fell curled back into the Erath, leaving two new creatures where it used to stand. Both creatures were similar to the others, but one was made of solid ice, Eise, and the other was made from black, polished rock, Obsiden. The first trio ran over to the Master Emerald and saluted to the newcomers as they stepped forward.

"It's good to see you again." Eise said. "Especially you, Lightra."

Lightra giggled shyly; Chaos and Heat looked disgusted.

"You can flirt with your woman later, Eise." Obsiden said disgruntled. "Wasn't there something you wanted to say?"

"Too true, Obsiden." Eise said; he turned his gaze to the other three. "As you all know, when the Master unleashed his plans, the people in our world have been dying."

"But Aero defeated the Master and we began to rebuild our world." Chaos stated.

"We have been trying to rebuild the world for three years with no success." Obsiden pointed "No matter how much is restored, there is nothing that can reverse to the curse the Master has already released.

"So the only solution is to escape this dying world and settle ourselves in a new home." Eise continued.

"But what about the survivors remaining on this world?" Heat asked.

"They're fate is already decided." Obsiden replied.

"You can't do this!" Chaos exclaimed. "Even if you were able to escape this world, how would you survive? Your powers will be useless if the Master Emerald is not on the same world."

"That's why we intend to bring it with us." Eise said; the heroes looked shocked. "This is your chance to join us. Come with us and we will continue to thrive together."

"Forget it!" Heat shouted.

"I was afraid it would come to this." Eise shook his head. "I am sorry, but if you will not join us, then you must die."

Obsiden lifted his foot and stomped it on the ground, transforming the grassy plain to a barren wasteland. The time for talk was over. Heat irrationally charges headfirst at the traitors; a whip a flame forming in his claw. But Obsiden merely waved it off. But the wave was actually to summon a pillar of earth that slammed into Heat's chin, flopping him backwards. Obsiden waved his waved his hand again, raising the ground beneath his and Eise's feet. The ground below the Master Emerald also rose, setting across themselves. Obsiden waved again, connecting a bridge between them and the Master Emerald.

"This is almost too easy." Obsiden stated.

"Don't worry, those three aren't ones to give up." Eise said.

Like Eise said, the three heroes jumped between the two pillars and shot up to land on the bridge in front of them.

"You three don't know when to quit, do you?" Obsiden said.

"Quit was never a part of our vocabulary." Chaos said.

"I'm sure we can find some way to change that." Eise said.

Obsiden raised his claws and slam them down on the bridge. The stone bridge was shattered and the three heroes fell through. But Chaos swung his arm around and stretched it out to reach the top of the pillar. While Chaos pulled himself up, Eise jumped off after the other two. Chaos pulled himself over the edge, bowed at Obsiden's feet.

"Are you ready to admit defeat?" Obsiden asked.

"Never." Chaos hissed.

Obsiden raised his claw to stab Chaos, but the water god flipped over his head seconds before he struck. Chaos rebounded back at Obsiden with his claws extended and sharpened. Obsiden waved his claw again, summoning a wall of rock to block Chaos. Chaos kicked back when the wall suddenly gained spikes. Chaos crouched lowly with a savage expression as Obsiden lowered the wall.

"You don't stand a chance against me." Obsiden stated. "I was one of the original Guardians. My knowledge of battle vastly surpasses yours."

"You'd be surprised." Chaos sniggered.

Chaos shot forward for a second wave. Meanwhile, Eise and Heat were caught in a conflict with Lightra standing on the sidelines. Heat, his claws aflame, thrust his knuckles at Eise's head, but the ice god was much faster then he appeared. Twice, Eise was able to deal a blow at Heat before ducking away. Lightra occasionally helped by throwing lighting bolts at Eise, but purposely missed. Even in the midst of battle, she still had feelings for Eise.

"Lightra, stop messing around!" Heat shouted. "He's a traitor!"

"I know." Lightra said softly. "Eise, forgive me."

She raised her claw and shot a well aimed lightning bolt at Eise's leg. The leg shattered on contact, which made him lose concentration of the battle. Heat drove his claw to Eise's head, melting half his face in the process. Eise was thrown back to the pillar. Eise groaned lightly trying to restore his missing parts. Heat slammed his claws together, forming a massive fireball between them.

"Time to turn up the heat!" Heat roared.

"That was terrible." Lightra groaned.

Heat lifted the fireball over his head and thrust it towards Eise. But the ice god held out his claw and ejected a cold mist from his palm. The mist and the fireball collided, creating a large haze. Heat and Lightra waited out the haze apprehensively, but when it cleared, Eise was gone.

"Where'd he go?" Heat asked.

"Look out!" Lightra suddenly screamed.

Lightra pointed up and Heat looked at the direction of her claw. A storm of icicles dived at them. Acting fast, Heat and Lightra made a run for it, but they were already caught before they could take another step. Lightra got lucky; none of the icicles came within ten feet of her. But Heat received the worst of it. Heat was lying the ground with six icicles sticking out of his back before his body temperature melted them away.

"Heat." Lightra whispered.

She attempted to reach out to the when an explosion came from the battle scene between Chaos and Obsiden. Chaos was seen flying off the pillar and crash landing in the ground half a mile away.

"Ok, that didn't work." Chaos groaned.

"Chaos, are you ok!" Lightra called out.

"He is for now." Lightra shot around to face Obsiden. "I must admit, he is more powerful then I give him credit for." He pointed to his shoulder, which had a substantial crack in it. "His last attack actually managed to pierce my body."

"You won't win!" Lightra exclaimed. "Somehow, someway, we'll stop you!"

"I do not see that coming true." Obsiden chuckled.

"I do!"

Obsiden turned his head over and was caught off guard when Heat came charging. With a sword of flame conjured in his claw, Heat skipped off the ground and dived at the rock god. Within a foot of Obsiden's face, Heat swung around his sword raised. Suddenly, he was halted in midair. Eise captured him by the back of his head and suspended him in midair.

"Let – me – go!" Heat demanded.

"No." Eise replied. "You have proven to be too much of an annoyance to be allowed to live."

"No!!" Lightra cried

But it was too late. In an instant, Heat's entire was frozen in ice in Eise's claw. Eise closed his claw, shattering Heat's head with the rest of his body following. Obsiden looked pleased, but Lightra appeared distraught.

"How could you?" Lightra whispered.

"I did it for you, for us." Eise said, slightly mournful. "I did it because I love you, just as you love me."

"I fell in love with a man who's wanted to protect our home." Lightra said coldly. "Not you."

"Well, that's too bad." Obsiden said pleasingly. "Then I guess there's no point in keeping her alive, is there, Eise?"

"No." Eise said sorrowfully

"Ugh, who knew rock could be so hard." Chaos groaned.

Chaos was limping back to the battlefield; his leg was slipping from him. But when he returned back to battle, he was not ready for the sight he saw. The Master Emerald was brought back down to the ground with Eise and Obsiden leveled to it. The shattered remains of Heat were strewed across the ground and Lightra was lying on the ground with a spear of rock stabbed through her chest. Chaos, forgetting his own wound, trotted to kneel next to his friend.

"Lightra!" Chaos cried; lifting her head into his hands. "Lightra, please be alive!"

"I'm – sorry, Chaos." Lightra said weakly.

"Don't talk. I'll try to pull it out." Chaos said desperately. Chaos reached at tried to pull out the spear, but to no avail. "It won't budge."

"Chaos – you're the only one left to stop them." Lightra said. "I couldn't stop Eise. I still love him."

And with her last dying breath, Lightra reached out to touch Chaos before falling limp. At that one silent moment, Chaos did something he hadn't done since Tikal's near death: he cried.

"They'll pay." Chaos growled. "I swear they'll pay!"

Chaos left the remains and charged towards the traitors. Eise took notice of Chaos oncoming attack and waved his claw to the ground. A sheet of ice escaped from his palm and turned the ground into solid ice. Chaos slipped and started sliding towards them until Eise raised his claw to call a dome to cover him.

"Finally, we can leave this hell for good." Obsiden said. He reached out to touch the Master Emerald, but was stopped when Eise grabbed him. Eise froze his arm before tearing it off. "Augh! What are you doing!"

"What I was intending to do." Eise said snidely. "You didn't think I was taking the Master Emerald to keep my powers. Oh no, I was planning to drain it's power to make me the most powerful force in the universe!"

"But what about our plan?" Obsiden asked fearfully.

"You played your part, but now it's over." Eise chuckled. "Good bye, Obsiden."

Meanwhile, Chaos was kicking at the ice wall of the dome to bust it down, but had no success. Then he remembered that ice was just frozen water. Chaos melded with the ice and phased through it. He escaped just in time to witness Eise's final betrayal. Eise grasped Obsiden by the face, freezing his entire body. He closed his claw to give him a death similar to Heat's. He was mad! He betrayed his friends, his lover, and now his partner. Was their no end to his onslaught?

"How could you do all this, brother?" Chaos asked.

"We are not brothers!" Eise stated. "We were never related by blood!"

"I know." Chaos said sadly. "But I've always looked to you as a brother. Aero, he was you brother. He gave his life to seal that monster away. Are really going to let his sacrifice be in vain.

"What you call sacrifice, I call cowardice." Eise said coldly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must complete my destiny.

Eise turned away from Chaos and placed both claws on the Master Emerald. The massive emerald expelled a surge of green chaos that enveloped transformed Eise. His frozen body turned completely organic and grew in silver fur. He gained five quills pointing upwards, two shape spines sticking out of his back, and wore gloves and shoe that completely matched his fur color.

"Eise?" Chaos asked nervously.

"Not anymore." Eise said. "From now on, I will be going by my true name: Nazo."

Nazo tested out his new powers by zooming past Chaos and slamming his fist into his gut. Chaos was thrown clear across the wasteland, but was kicked to the sky by Nazo before he touched the ground. Nazo reappeared overheard and kicked Chaos to the ground. Chaos landed in front of the Master Emerald when Nazo touched down a few feet away.

"As you can see, my powers have progressed beyond imagination." Nazo smirked. "And this isn't even my full power."

"What?!" Chaos exclaimed.

"This is only ten percent." Nazo explained. "Allow me to show you my one hundred percent power!"

Nazo's power began to grow furiously; a terrible red aura surrounded him. Nazo fur started to turn and his quills grew longer.

"I can't win alone." Chaos stated hopelessly. "If only there was someway to defeat him." Like it was listening, the Master Emerald ejected an aura into its Chaos' hands. The aura transformed into a white chrome sword with runes on the side that translated 'Master'. "Aero's sword, I understand."

Nazo was already halfway through his Hell Form and pushed his powers far beyond normal. Chaos lifted the sword, staggering slightly because of its weight, and ran at Nazo. Nazo was near completion of his transformation when he felt the sword run through his chest. Nazo reverted to his standard form while Chaos called out.

"MASTER SEAL!!"

A brilliant light escaped the sword, throwing Chaos back. The sword evaporated and formed seven rings around Nazo's neck, legs, arms, and spines. The rings tightened, releasing a wave of pain throughout Nazo's body.

"What have you done!" Nazo screamed.

"I ended it." Chaos panted.

"This isn't over!" Nazo yelled. "I will return and you will die!"

The rings literally tore Nazo to pieces and sucked him inside. Seven small explosions erupted from the rings, causing Chaos to go temporally blind. When the light vanished, the rings were replace by seven colored gems: the chaos emeralds. Before Chaos could even ponder what happened, he collapsed and everything went black.

"Excuse me. Are you ok?" He heard a young female ask.

When Chaos woke up, he was no longer on Parasiden. Instead, he was in a flowery field on Earth. He looked up to find a six year-old Tikal looming over him. Cheese was floating overhead with a worried expression.

"Are you ok?" Tikal asked. Chaos replied, but Tikal didn't seem to understand him. "Uh...can you repeat that?"

Chaos shook his head; he knew this wasn't getting anywhere. Then, the Master Emerald, which followed Chaos along with the chaos emeralds, ejected another strand of energy. The strand form around Tikal's head to form the golden tiara she wore now.

"What's this?" Tikal asked curiously.

"Like I would know." Chaos replied. Tikal seemed startled as she jumped back. "What?"

"Y-you talked." Tikal stated.

"You can understand me?" Chaos asked Tikal nodded. "Then listen, I need help. Help me find a place to protect these emeralds"

"I will." Tikal nodded. "My name is Tikal."

"I am Chaos." Chaos introduced.

**"And as they say, the rest is history." Tikal said.**

* * *

The Heroes were thrust out of the memories and landed back on the ground; Knuckles fell on his face.

"So that's how the emeralds were created." Sonic said. "Nazo made them."

"No." Tikal shook her head. "Nazo didn't create the chaos emeralds, he _is _the emeralds. That's way he knows more about them then anyone else. It's because he and the emeralds are the same."

"Wait a minute." Shadow interjected. "Then if we kill Nazo, does that mean the chaos emeralds will die with him."

No one had thought of that concept. They looked with concern towards Tikal, who, to their turmoil, nodded her head. They were at a loss. If they killed Nazo, they would lose the items that made them powerful in the first place. But if Nazo remained alive, he would destroy the world and everyone in it. The heroes remained silent before Silver stood up.

"Then it's for the best." Silver said. The heroes looked at him with shocked expressions. "The power of the chaos emeralds is too great for mere mortals. If I had to chose between life and power, I would choose life."

"But if the emeralds are gone, Blaze will never come back and you'll never get home." Tails said.

"If that is the price I have to pay, then so be it." Silver said seriously.

The heroes' spirits were uplifted by Silver's speech. He was right, they didn't need power to be heroes. Most of them don't even have any powers. With their priorities set, the heroes returned to their rooms to rest for the next day. But Tikal seemed concerned. She stared back at Chaos with and apprehensive looked that was familiar to him.

"_Don't you think we should have told Sonic?_" Tikal asked. "_About who he truly is?_"

"_Sonic will know the truth when the time comes._" Chaos replied. _"He has enough trouble without that information_."

* * *

Meanwhile, the scene changes to the dimension of the Dark Rulers. Nazo sat at his throne with a stoic expression. He couldn't stop think about that battle. When he looked into Sonic's eyes, they felt so familiar. Without realizing it until now, Nazo felt something cold rolling down the side of his face. The touched it and held it in his palm to see.

"_A tear..._" Nazo thought. "_Am I...crying?"_

But Nazo dissolved the tear when he felt the presence of others; he didn't want to show weakness. He turned in his throne and was surprise to find all the members of the Dark Rulers present.

"Lord Nazo, we wish to speak to you." Erazor said.

"What of?" Nazo asked.

"You've been keeping a secret from us!" Tomo exclaimed.

"Yeah, we have been chasing Metal everywhere and you never told us why!" Nack shouted.

"My reasons are to myself." Nazo said coldly.

"Haven't we proven ourselves loyal to you, my lord?" Shira asked.

"She's right, we deserve an answer." Mephiles said.

He looked between the six rulers with pride. Never before had they ever united together. If he could get them to act the same way on their missions, they would be unstoppable. But there was only one way of doing it: telling the truth.

"Very well." Nazo said. "As you recall, I battle Metal Sonic before in Megalo Station, I having the upper hand. Then somehow, he stole something that could change the tide of this war."

"And what is that?" Black Doom questioned.

"My memories."

* * *

**The piece of the puzzle come together. How did Metal obtain Nazo's memories? And what secret is Chaos keeping from Sonic? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Don't miss my next story: Origin of Chaos**

**Please, read and review.**


	43. Big Changes

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Chapter Forty-Three: Big Changes

The scene opens up with Shadow in the workshop. After recovering the charred remains, Shadow's main goal was to restore his former car. He had managed to repair the body. Now he was working on the engine. He set up his tools to work when Jet suddenly came in.

"Hey, Shad, how's the car coming?" Jet asked.

The emerald bird moved closer to inspect the car when Shadow suddenly smacked him upside the head.

"Don't – touch – the car!" Shadow seethed.

"What's up with you?" Jet asked rudely. "I only wanted to see it."

"Whenever you get near my car, something bad always happens to it." Shadow stated.

"Name one time." Jet challenged.

"The Ark of the Cosmos incident." Shadow began. "My car was suspended for three months. Rematch with ABIS, my car was turned into grilled compost heap. Last week, I was waiting for the engine..."

"I said one time!" Jet cut in. "Chill out, Shad. I can tell you, nothing is going to happen."

But While he was talking, Jet leaned up against the car door. The next thing he knew, the door fell sideways. Things only got worse when the car started rattling and suddenly shattered to pieces. Now you have a broken car, a killer hedgehog, and a klutzy bird. You do the math. The scene alters to the hallway outside the workshop. Knuckles, Rouge, Wave, and Amy were talking over the arrangements of the future wedding. Sonic was only there because he had nothing better to do, or so they thought.

"I think we should go with a spring theme." Amy suggested.

"That's not a bad idea." Knuckles said thoughtfully. "The plant life on Angel Island is blooming best during mid-spring."

"I can't believe you're getting all work up over this, knucklehead." Sonic commented.

"Are you the one getting married!" Knuckles exclaimed. "I didn't think so."

"It's unusually quiet around here." Rouge stated.

"Eh, probably not for long." Wave said. "If my calculations are correct, things should be kicking off in three...two...one."

"YOU'RE DEAD, PIGEON!" Shadow roared.

"Right on time." Wave commented.

There was a loud scramble of noise coming from the room next to them; a string of curses followed. A moment later, Jet ran out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He was panting heavily through a black eye.

"What's up?" Sonic asked casually.

"Shadow...car...broke." Jet wheezed.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out what he meant. Shadow emerged from the workshop by tearing the door off its hinges. He was surrounded in a thick layer of red chaos with his eyes blank. With a scream of panic, Jet, along with the other heroes, burst down the hallway. Shadow chased them all around the base, not caring that Sonic or the others were not involved. They flung in and out of random doors, through the thick forest outside, even ran across the ceiling. Tails was unfortunate to be stampeded by the herd, but Cream couldn't be any happier. The chase lasted until they reached the storage room near the hanger. Jet noticed his ring glowing and hatched a plan.

"Quick!" Jet shouted. "Into the book!"

With Shadow close behind, they didn't bother asking questions. The Jet's book flung open as the emerald hawk stretched his ring hand to it. A fragment of light erupted from the page, sucking Jet and the others inside. The book snapped shut behind them.

* * *

The six were flung into the Arabian Nights were they all landed in a massive pile up. With much difficulty, Rouge slapping people for touching her chest, they separated from each other. Everyone looked fine, but Jet and Wave were different from when they first entered the book. Much like their last trip, they wore Arabian style clothing instead of their usual wardrobe. Jet wore a silver vest with a green hawk on the back. Wave wore white slacks with an Arabian top and a red sash.

"Uh, what's with the get up?" Knuckles questioned.

"Oh, this?" Wave said, pointing to her cloths. "Whenever we come to the Arabian Nights, our cloths change to these for some reason."

"Why can't we have fabulous cloths like that?" Amy whined.

"I wouldn't see why you would."

They turned on the spot where they found Shahra the Ring Genie floating closer to them, followed by King Shahryar and Queen Scheherazade. The queen had seriously changed dramatically since she was Ali Baba. She now wore a ceremonial white gown with a golden floral crown around her head. Upon seeing the royal duo, the heroes realized they were in King Shahryar's palace.

"It's about time you showed up, birdbrain." Shahra huffed at Jet. "Any second more and I would have dragged you here myself."

"Calm down, Shahra." The King said. "No need to get all worked up."

"How can you say that, your highness?!" Shahra asked hysterically.

"What's going on?" Rouge asked.

"Oh, it's nothing." The Queen shrugged. "Erazor's just trying to take over the kingdom."

"Again?" The heroes asked simultaneously.

"Again." The king nodded.

"Looks like we're stuck with another boring mission." Sonic sighed. "Where is Erazor anyway?"

"Funny, you should ask that?" Called a familiar voice.

The voices tone carried a chilling scent in the air. Sonic looked up and, sure enough, saw a black huff slipping into the room. The small huff expanded into a cloud of smoke as it shot down at the group. The heroes and the Arabians jumped back from where the smoke landed between them. Jet was luck to trip backward as a razor blade nearly clipped his beak. When the smoke cleared, Erazor stood with his signature razor unsheathed.

"Greetings, pathetic insects." Erazor said simply.

"How kind of you to join us, Erazor." The King smirked.

"Why wouldn't I join you?" Erazor returned. "Not when I am trying to regain my former kingdom." He turned to Shahra "And maybe afterwards, you could rejoin me at my side, Shahra." Shahra stuck her tounge at him. "How discreet."

"Better leave before things get serious." Knuckles said, bashing his namesakes.

"Then come if you dare." Erazor challenged.

Erazor unsheathed his razor blade as Knuckles charged headlong into an attack. Erazor swiped across his head, but the echidna slid under it with his head back. Unknown to the djinn, Rouge was in the air above him. She held out her heel and started spinning in place for her signature attack.

"SCREW KICK!" Rouge shouted.

Unfortunate enough, Erazor had turned on the spot from Rouge's yell. At the same time, Knuckles was charging for a second strike. To counteract them both, Erazor grabbed the female bat by her leg and tossed her into Knuckles path. Erazor could only smirk when he realized he had other problems. Both Amy and Wave ran at the evil djinn with their signature weapons. Erazor blocked them with his own. He could tell they were much stronger than they looked. The initial contact forced Erazor to his knees. Realizing his position, Erazor summoned a ball of fire in his hand and plunged it into the ground. A moment later, the floor erupted beneath Amy and Wave, throwing them across the room.

"Any other foolish enough to challenge me." Erazor asked.

"Hey, we haven't had our fun yet." Sonic said.

Before he could realize what happened, Erazor found Sonic's foot lodged in his gut. The speedy hedgehog jumped away before Erazor could grab him. Jet ran up after him and kick flipped Erazor in the chin. Erazor staggered back, holding his chin, before he saw Sonic and Jet charging at him. Both jumped and kicked the evil djinn to the ground.

"You filthy rodents." Erazor grunted, staggering to his feet.

"Give it up, Djinn!" Jet commanded. The others joined at his side. "There's no way you can beat our team. We know each other like the back of our hands."

"Is that so?" Erazor said; his grin growing more menacing. "Well then, what do you say we put it to the test?"

The mighty djinn clapped his hands together, gathering a large amount of dark magic. He began chanting and the light in the room suddenly started to fade. The only source of light was the rainbow colored ball formed in Erazor's hands. With a mighty howl, Erazor hurled the orb at the heroes. The orb made contact and everything went black.

"Do you think they're all right?" The Queen's voice asked.

"I am uncertain." The King's voice replied. "Perhaps we should wait until they're awake."

"Maybe I could prod Jet awake." Shahra suggested hopefully.

"Shahra, no!" The King said sternly.

What's going on was the first thing that entered Jet's mind. He didn't feel any prodding, so he guessed Shahra listened. He groaned as he sat up and opened his eyes. What he first saw was all his friends lying in beds lined up against the wall. It was The King who noticed Jet first waking up. He left Amy's bedside and joined him on his own.

"How are you feeling, Wave?" The King asked.

"I'm just fine, I..." Jet said momentarily. When he spoke, it came out in a pitch higher than his own. "What's wrong with my voice? And why did you call me Wave?"

"Because that's your name." The King said confused.

"No, I'm Jet!" Jet exclaimed.

"Uh...this is awkward." The King said.

"What?" Jet asked. "What's going on?"

The King didn't answer, but instead grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of bed. He noticed he was taller than usual. And when where his feathers purple? The King stopped and pushed Jet in front of a full body mirror. Only his reflection showed Wave instead of himself. He scratched his head and Wave did the same. Then it hit him: he was Wave. Knowing this, he started screaming in Wave's voice. The scream was enough to wake the whole team. It wasn't long before everyone figured out their predicament. Sonic and Amy, Knuckles and Rouge, Jet and Wave all switched bodies.

"Get out of my beautiful body!" Rouge screamed at Knuckles.

"You think I like this?!" Knuckles roared back. "How can you see with this wide loads on your chest?!"

"How come you don't have any, Ames?" Sonic asked, looking down Amy's dress.

"Stop look at my chest, you pervert!" Amy screamed.

"What happened while we were out?" Wave asked.

"When Erazor's spell hit you, I conjured enough magic to push him out of the palace." Shahra explained. "We brought you six here and tried to examine you for any magical changes. But from the looks of it, I wasn't thorough enough."

"Ya think!" Knuckles exclaimed.

"There must be someway to reverse the process." Wave said thoughtfully. "If you could direct me to the library, I will start looking for a way to change us back." Nobody moved, but eyed Wave awkwardly. "What?"

"It's just weird." Sonic said. "Jet and books don't really go together."

"Yeah, I – HEY!" Jet snapped.

After an awkward confrontation and understanding, everyone scattered in their own directions. The Queen directed Wave to the library; she still received strange looks. She spent over two hour taking down ancient dusty scrolls; some of them actually tried to bite when you picked them up. Wave was looking up an old journal created by Erazor when Jet walked in. At that moment, Wave wanted to scream. Her body was covered from head to toe in food scrapes, while Jet was eating a bucket of chicken wings.

"What have you done to me?!" Wave cried hysterically.

"I was so hungry." Jet said tiredly; he chewed on another wing. "Honestly, Wave, don't you ever eat?"

"Get that out of your mouth!" Wave shouted with authority.

"No!" Jet whined.

Wave grabbed the wing and tried to tug it away, but Jet pulled back. Wave's body was the tallest and oldest, but Jet's was clearly more fit and durable. Back and forth, they tugged at the small wing until they both let go. The wing hit against one of the shelves, knocking it over with the contents. That shelf knocked another and another until the entire library looked like a stampede came through. The contents of the shelves piled over Jet and Wave.

"I'm not cleaning that up." Jet said; Wave groaned.

Knuckles and Rouge seemed to be having the hardest getting along with their new bodies. Rouge, whom was not used to using Knuckles kind of strength, was dragging Knuckles arms across the ground everywhere she went. Knuckles was not fending any better. He had no idea how use Rouge's wings, so he couldn't rely on flying anywhere. He was also hunched over by the sudden weight on his chest. The two eventually passed by each other; they were not pleased.

"Stop dragging my hands like that." Knuckles grunted. "Show some pride."

"I'm not a stupid echidna!" Rouge replied. "And stopped leaning over, you're ruining my figure."

"It not my fault I have a couple on anvils on my chest." Knuckles stated.

"How dare you!" Rouge screamed.

Using whatever strength she had her arms, Rouge slapped Knuckles across the face, feeling a bit awkward hitting herself. In retaliation, Knuckles slapped Rouge across the face. Quick enough, both anthros were locked in the usual squabble. Jet and Wave didn't bother looking as they passed by, but Shahra felt a bit concerned.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" Shahra asked.

"Nah, they'll get over it eventually." Wave shrugged. "Jet, get that cake out of my beak!"

The only one who didn't seem bothered by the sudden change was Sonic. This made Amy very suspicious. Sonic was walking around the palace without a care until he stopped outside a balcony. He looked left and right down the corridor. When the coast was clear, a wicked grin spread across his face. He attempted to look down Amy's dress when...

"SONIC!!"

Amy caught him. She stomped down the corridor; eyes filled with flames of rage. It was kind of strange to see Sonic angry when he was usually calm and down-to-earth.

"What are you doing?!" Amy shouted.

"Nothing." Sonic replied feebly.

"Don't lie to me!" Amy roared. "You were looking at my chest again, you pervert. If I catch you looking at my body one more time, I'm gonna..."

"What?" Sonic smirked. "You can't do anything. Hurting me will only hurt you."

"Oh yeah." Amy grinned.

Amy reeled back Sonic's leg and looked ready to kick him. But in a stunning turn of events, she instead redirect Sonic's foot back at his own behind. Outraged by Amy's lack of respect for his body, he summoned the Piko-Piko Hammer. To this day he still has no idea how he did it. He lifted Amy's hammer and started pounding her head. Both hedgehog's continued their appointed actions. Unknown to them, The King and Queen were walking by when they noticed their counterparts beating themselves up.

"This is a bit unusual." The Queen stated.

"Must be some kind of custom." The King said.

Over and hour later, things were finally staring to calm down. The King had ordered Shahra to go to the medical wing and to call everyone to lunch. Shahra returned momentarily with the group groaning behind. Sonic had a wrap around his head, Amy had a number of bandages on her behind, and Knuckles and Rouge had the same number of injuries as they usually did. Jet spent most of the afternoon laughing at them. Shahra kindly asked the heroes to sit down around a cleanly polished wooden table filled with an abundant amount of succulent treats. But before they could fill their bellies, Wave charged in.

"I've been doing my research." Wave stated; she still received strange looks. "After long study I have come to one conclusion: We're stuck.

The others facefaulted.

"Yeah, that's the kind of stuff we need to know." Sonic said sarcastically.

"Shut it, hedgehog!" Jet yelled. "At least she try to help!"

"Calm down." Wave said. "Look, we may be able to use Shahra's "magic" if we figure out what kind of spell Erazor used."

"But I had never even seen that spell before." Shahra stated.

"Then we should get Erazor to tell us." Knuckles said. "The sooner I lose this weight, the better."

Rouge looked ready to kill, but Amy cut in before she could move.

"But we don't even know where to find him." Amy said. Suddenly, there was a loud explosion, a thunderous roar, and the sound of people screaming coming from the Bazaar. "Never mind."

"Be careful, my friends." The King forewarned. "No doubt Erazor has grown more cautious after that previous battle."

The heroes nodded and quickly shot out towards the bazaar. Or at least until Sonic picked himself up. They arrived a moment later with the crowd running in the opposite direction. And the heroes couldn't blame them. Erazor had defiantly taken precautions. He had summoned a gigantic dragon that had two more heads than it should. The main body was grey, but each of the heads had a different color: red, blue, and yellow. And sure enough, Erazor Djinn stood proud on the middle head.

"Well, I wasn't expecting to see you here." Erazor laughed. "At least not in those forms."

"Yeah, you're a barrel of laughs!" Jet snapped. "Let's just make it easy and switch our bodies back."

"Switch you bodies?" Erazor repeated. "The spell I conjured was supposed to turn you into insects. My magic must be getting rusty."

"So you'll change us back?" Amy asked hopefully.

"Not likely." Erazor sniggered. "You see, my Hydra is very hungry and I was just about to feed him. I'm sure he would love some toasted chicken, frozen rats, energized mole, and whatever the hell you are." He pointed to Rouge.

"We're not chicken!" Jet and Wave snapped.

"We're not rats." Sonic and Amy yelled.

"I'm not a mole!" Knuckles roared, followed by Rouge. "I'm a bat, nimrod!"

"Whatever." Erazor shrugged.

The six heroes charged at the hydra, two going for each head. Jet and wave for the red head, Sonic and Amy for the blue head, and Knuckles and Rouge for the yellow head. Unfortunately, none of them knew how to work each others bodies. Sonic kept tripping over Amy's dress. Amy was not incapable of handling Sonic speed and ran into a wall. Jet kept looking for Wave wrench, but couldn't find it. Wave, who did not believe in magic, tried desperately to use Jet's Time Break attack. Knuckles and Rouge were still going through the whole body phase. Erazor did his best not to bust a gut.

"This is hilarious." Erazor laughed. "I should have sold tickets to this. Feast, my pet."

On command, the hydra swarmed. Its three heads lengthened from its body and snapped their jaws down onto the heroes. The body switched group was only lucky that the hydras missed slightly. But the biggest surprise came when the hydras turned their heads and opened their mouths to breathe. It came as no surprise that the red head spat out fire, but what they didn't expect was the blue head to spew ice and the yellow head to zap lightning at them. The six were forced back by the mighty torrent of attacks from the triple threat. The situation looked hopeless and Rouge seemed to agree.

"This is too much, we're getting killed." Rouge said hopelessly.

"We'll figure this out." Knuckles said. "We just need a plan."

"What's the point?!" Rouge exclaimed. "We're going to die! There's no way we can fight like this."

"Rouge, listen to me." Knuckles said, grabbing his face. "We're going to be married soon. And when we do, we'll be spending our whole lives together. But before that, we have to learn to trust each other. Do you trust me, Rouge?"

She hesitated for moment then said. "I do, knucklehead."

The touching moment between the two seemed to have a ripple effect on the others. Jet and Wave remembered that they spent their entire childhoods with each other. If they didn't know each other by now, they never would. Amy loved Sonic, everyone knew it. Sonic loved Amy, no one knew. But the moments they shared with each other were intimate. The heroes looked to one another...

"Let's just beat the bad guy already." Sonic cut in.

So much for that. The heroes stood up again and charged at the hydra again. Only this time, things were different. The red dragon released a wave of fire when Jet and Wave soared by. They each located their weapons and swiped past the head with their fans/wrench. The red head was severed a moment later. Knuckles finally got the hang of Rouge's wings and swarmed around the yellow hydra's head. While it was distracted, Rouge used her new super strength to grip the hydra by its neck and rip it from the main body. Back with the hedgehogs, they came to a mutual partnership and helped each other in matters of speed. With a quick tip, Amy was spinning circles around the last head. Sonic unleashed the Piko-Piko Hammer and snapped the last head's neck.

"That was tight!" Sonic cheered.

"I can't believe we actually did it." Knuckles said in shock.

"This isn't over just yet!" Erazor said as he reappeared. "This time' ill finish you once and for all!"

Erazor clapped his hands and began to chant again. Similar to last time, the sky went suddenly dark and the only light came from the rainbow orb created by Erazor. Jet tried to jump away, but Wave held him down and the others followed her example. Erazor threw the orb and watched as it made contact. The light returned to the Arabian Nights and Erazor stood proudly with a hint of triumph. But when the smoke cleared, he knew he was dead.

"All right, I'm me again!" Jet cheered.

"We're back in our own bodies." Knuckles celebrated. "Finally, I can get back to crushing boulders."

"I think we should thank Erazor for his help." Amy hinted.

The six heroes smirked to on another and shot evil grins to the dark djinn. Erazor went home a broken man.

* * *

The scene returned to the Sonic Heroes base. After their good byes, the heroes were transported back to their world. Unfortunately, they were once again piled up atop one another.

"Seriously, we need some cushion or something." Wave complained.

"Well, that's one adventure for the record books." Sonic smirked.

"Still, I can't help feel we've forgotten something." Rouge said thoughtfully.

The other heroes had the same unusual feeling as her, but shrugged it off. But when they exited the room, they quickly remembered. Shadow was standing outside the door with the same red aura since the start of this chapter. The six held each other in fear, Amy had no complaints, as Shadow gripped his fists and roared furiously.

"Ah, damn!" The heroes cried.

"CHAOS BLAST!" Shadow yelled.

* * *

**Congratulations to Aika08 for the winning chapter. Stay tuned for the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	44. The Fated Battle

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Sonic © Sega/Sonic Team

DBZ © Toei

Chapter Forty-Four: The Fated Battle

The story begins at a far-off mountain range close to Espio's home country. Deep inside the mountains were cavernous passages to a hidden base. The hallways would stretch for mile, all branching off into random directions. If you lost your way, you would never find you way back alive. But right now, that was the least of everyone's concerns. There were two men, wrapped in purple clothing, slowly pacing down the hall. They stopped at the end of the hall to face a black door etched with silver snakes. The last thing they would want to do is walk through, but they had no choice. One of the men raised his hand to knock when...

"Enter." A small hiss commanded.

The men were fearful, but hesitantly walked in. Once inside, you could understand why. Naga the Snake sat at the handmade stone throne opposite the door; his face made more menacing by the flickering candlelight. The men approached him and kneeled. The men stiffened when the felt something slither between them, but did not dare to move. Nagini slowly crawled up the throne and watched protectively over her beloved master.

"What is it?" Naga hissed.

"My lord..." The man trembled. "W-we've brought the report l-like you asked.

"And?" Naga edged.

"W-we've watched Sonic's movements like you asked." The man continued. "We studied him, watched for his strengths and weaknesses."

"And what have you found?" Naga questioned. Nagini gazed hungrily.

"He's reached the ability to break the sound barrier." The other man stated. "And he has also been known to manipulate chaos energy. He mostly prefers it for his singular technique, Sonic Wind. He also has some slight control over chaos control.

"And his weaknesses?" Naga questioned.

"He is very afraid of water." The man continued. "Apparently, he can't swim and sinks like a rock in water. We have also received word that he harbors feeling for a girl named Amy Rose. He also fears her brother, Rector Rose."

"The water phobia is one he most certainly can overcome." Naga said thoughtful. "But the girl and her brother could be just the thing I'm looking for. I'll look into it later. Now, what is the report on my other target, Rai?"

"O-other target." The men looked shaken; they scattered the paperwork they were holding. "We didn't know you wanted us to watch him, my lord. Please, provide us a moment to..."

But he would never have the chance to finish. Barely a moment went by when Naga lengthened his arm and gripped one of the men by his chest.

"By the way," Naga sniggered. "It was a rhetorical question."

Naga tightened his hand and recalled his arm back to its proper size. The man that was just assaulted slowly stared down to his chest. There was a big gaping hole left; Naga literally ripped out his heart. Naga dropped the man's heart on the ground and stomped it only second before he hit the ground. Nagini looked stared with hungry eyes at the man slumping against the wall.

"M-my lord." The other man said frighteningly. "My lord...why?"

"I already know where Rai is lurking." Naga hissed malevolently. "I had sent Kai to keep a close eye on him. The boy is searching valiantly for his father. But I cannot let that happen. Kai shall be informed on his next mission."

"But my lord..." The man said, pointing to his partner. "...Why?"

"Sheer entertainment." Naga replied cruelly. "I do not believe Nagini has had her chance for fun." The next time Naga spoke, his voice was completely hissing in a different language. "اذهب تقوم به ،"

The remaining man tried fruitlessly to reach the door, but Nagini's serpentine body slithered past him before he could even reach the handle. The last moments of his life were spent watching as Nagini's fangs stabbed his chest.

* * *

The scene changes to a mountain range in Midwestern China. It was a land filled with strange creatures no one would see anywhere else. The creatures also included real living dinosaurs. Tails would have a field day in this place. But somewhere in the center of the mountain range stood a lone house. Why anyone would live there is beyond me. But all in all, things were quiet. Boring.

"OUT! OUT! OUT!!" A woman screamed.

Now that's more like it! There was a ruckus coming from inside the house. From the looks of things, it seemed that the residents of the house had an unwanted guest. Three guesses who?

"Mom, I'm sure he didn't mean it." A boy called to the woman.

"I don't care!" The woman screeched. "I want him out of this house now!"

Next thing they knew, there was the sound of shattering glass and tableware bursting inside the house. The front door open and our spiky redhead, Rai, slammed in shut behind him. Not long after, several knives and forks found their way through the door, one of them nearly hitting Rai between the legs.

"Later, Gohan!" Rai called. "I would stay longer, but I want to stay a man!"

Rai broke into a run seconds before he burst off the ground. Similar to when he faced Violet, Chaos' colored clone, Rai found himself with the ability to fly. But this time, he was flying at over seventy miles per hour. I guess this would be a good time to explain a little about Rai. When he was ten, Rai met a brave man named Goku. Fascinated with his abilities, Rai asked if he could become his apprentice; he accepted. And after five years of vigorous hard work, Rai mastered his abilities to their fullest. He had returned today to visit Goku, only to find out he died a few months ago.

"I can't believe Goku married that shrew." Rai muttered. "All I did was break every dish in the house. That's nothing to get upset about."

Rai continued to mumble to himself that he barely had time to realize he nearly hit a mountain. He swerved past the mountain, barely scarping himself. Unknown to him, someone was already waiting for next to that very mountain. Kai, the heartless assassin and Naga's loyal follower, was sitting on a cliffside with a pair of binoculars to his eyes. He watched Rai fly through the range until he was out of sight. He dropped the binocular; his piercing gold eyes sharp as a hawks.

"My lord, Rai has just left mountains." Kai said to no one. "Shall I continue to follow him?"

"You are done following, Kai." Naga's voice hissed from nowhere. "The boy is getting nosy for his own good. Kai, you know what to do."

"As you wish, my lord." Kai said.

Rai landed in a clearing away from the mountain and near a vast lake. Rai did find it strange that there was a small modernized moon resting over the lake, but didn't feel all to concerned about it. He splashed water in his face to clear his senses.

"Man, this search things is not going too well." Rai moaned to himself as he fell back on the leafy ground. "I've looked everywhere and I still can't find a single thing on my dad." He pulled off his backpack, which was given to him by the Sonic Heroes, and pulled out the communicator. It remained idly. "You would at least think they would have called me. They're sure to have seen my dad by now."

He sighed heavily and put the communicator away. He rummaged his backpack and pulled a photograph he added himself. It was a picture that was taken sixteen years ago on the day of his birth. He stared at his mother, a raven-haired beauty who smiled down proudly at her child. Rai felt sad when he learned his mother died shortly after naming him. He turned to his father, a large man with thick red hair, which Rai inherited from.

"Where are you, dad." Rai sighed. "I miss you."

As Rai held the picture up to the sunlight, he noticed something he missed before. In the background was a shadowed figure, his skin looked a skinning green. He was also holding a new born child with blue hair.

"What in the world is that?" Rai questioned, examining the picture closely. "Who is that?"

"You won't live long enough to find out."

Before he realized what happened, a dagger flew out of nowhere and stabbed the picture to the ground. A moment later, Rai was caught in a shower of daggers. He quickly reached for his backpack and flipped backwards as the daggers started swarming around him. He landed promptly back on his feet the moment the showers ended. But it was then he noticed a new figure in the field. It was the long-haired figure known as Kai.

"Who are you?" Rai asked immediately.

"I am Kai, Lord Naga's faithful follower." Kai introduced.

"You're Naga's lackey, huh?" Rai smirked. "Thought I smelled something foul in the air."

"You would be wise not to insult your master, Rai." Kai said coolly.

"How do you know my name?" Rai asked surprised.

"You would be amazed at how much Lord Naga knows." Kai said indifferent. "It's only been fifteen years since you and he last met. All those time when your father and he worked together to revolutionize the world. He certainly hasn't changed."

"You know where my dad is?" Rai asked eagerly. "Tell me!"

"If you somehow stay alive," Kai said. "I might be persuaded to tell."

Rai looked confused for a moment, but only a moment. With a swish of his bloodstained scarf, Kai reached into his jacket and launched a barrage of daggers. Rai jumped behind a boulder to avoid them, but only got off with near misses when they sliced through the boulder. When the barrage stopped, Rai jumped out from behind the boulder with his palms held out. He formed orbs of blue energy in his palms and threw them at Kai. But the heartless killer didn't seem troubled. He reached into his jacket and drew a three-pronged dagger. He raised to the orbs of energy, which were surprisingly absorbed by the strange dagger.

"What was that?" Rai questioned.

"In expectation of this bout, I forged this special weapon." Kai explained. "It is forged from adamantium; the core made from crystalline chaos. It can absorb any type of energy and render it useless."

"Then we'll have to settle this the old fashion way." Rai smirked.

Rai charged forward, dodging left and right to avoid Kai's daggers. Knowing he was too close for the daggers, Kai pocketed them. Kai jumped away when Rai threw a punch to him. But when he missed, Kai observed his attacker smashing the boulder behind him to rubble.

"_He is far stronger then I predicted._" Kai thought. "_I must watch myself around him._"

Rai swung around with his leg outstretched. Kai raised his arms to block, but that didn't stop the impact from sending Kai skipping across the lake. Kai swerved back to his feet and just in time as Rai was already over him. Rai brought his fist down to the ground, which formed a massive crater in his wake. Kai jumped back as the crater was formed below him. While still in the air, Kai observed Rai cup his hands, gathering a massive amount of energy to a single point.

"There's too much energy." Kai stated to himself. "My weapon can't absorb that much power."

"Let's see you try to get out of this one!" Rai exclaimed. "KA-ME-HA-ME-HA!"

Rai thrust his palms forward, expelling a stream of blue energy. Kai, being unable to move in midair, was hit full force by the blast. But unfortunately, also in the blasts path was the small moon hanging over the lake. Rai's blast made contact with the floating moon, which erupted into a miniaturized nuclear explosion. The after shock forced Rai to fall back and bang his head against a boulder. Lucky his head is hard. When the sky became clear, the moon was gone, but so was Kai.

"At least that's over." Rai said in relief. He stared at the spot where the moon formally rested. "Why do I get a feeling I shouldn't have destroyed that?"

"That's because you weren't." Rai twisted around in shock. Kai was leaning against a tree, perfectly unharmed. "That was a special sanctuary known as Little Planet. Consider yourself lucky the Time Stones have long disappeared from this timeline."

"How did you got over there?" Rai stammered. "You were there and now you're there."

"You're not the only one who has been granted gifts." Kai said monotone. "But since you were willing to show me yours, I shall return the favor."

Rai prepared himself for Kai's attack, but it was pointless. Before Rai had a chance to blink, Kai's fist was already smashed into his stomach. Rai doubled over in pain, but barely had time to take it in full. Kai swung his leg back and kicked his opponent backwards off the ground. Rai was hovering a few feet off the ground, but that didn't matter to Kai. The long-haired loomed over Rai like a vulture to its prey. Kai started off with a knee to his back and an elbow to his gut. He swung his fist to Rai's face, sending him flying for over a mile. Rai didn't know what happened next, but it was very painful. Kai was all over him like a swarm of wasps and jabbing at Rai in every direction. And it all happened in under a minute. Rai collapsed to the ground in a crumpled heap.

"No way." Rai groaned; he coughed up blood. "He's just as fast as Sonic."

"You're wrong." Kai said. He grabbed Rai by his spiky hair. "I'm faster."

He lifted Rai up off the ground by his hair, Rai hissed from the pain. Kai reeled back his fist and lodged it into Rai's back. He pulled back and attacked in the same place. Kai performed the same thing over and over again; Rai cried out from every hit. Our spiky haired hero was ready to pass out any second now. And the moment he did, he knew it would be the last time he ever opened his eyes. But Rai persevered. Knowing his tactics weren't working, Kai switched. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a particularly sharp knife. He hadn't used it since he killed Raine's mother.

"I am sorry to say our little game ends here." Kai said. "But don't fret; you will be honored by having your blood added to my scarf."

"You're a sick freak." Rai groaned.

"This is where words fail." Kai said indifferently. "And so does your life."

Kai raised his knife and swung it around to Rai's back. But inches before it hit, Kai's hand stopped. Rai could feel his grip slowly releasing. Once he was free, Rai turned back at Kai with a bewildered expression. Kai looked to be in a trance, his face giving a faraway look. But inside his head, Kai could hear voices, voice that didn't belong to either of them.

"_Someone from the dark."_

"_All I'm trying to tell you, traitor..."_

"_Shine your pale light on this empty realm."_

"_Where is my heart?"_

Kai finally snapped out of his trance. What was it that he just experience? Who did those four voices belong to? They sounded familiar.

"Hey, pal!" Rai called. "You awake! I'm sure you would want to miss this!"

Kai was suddenly brought back into the fight against Rai. How could he have been so stupid to be distracted in the middle of a battle? While he was out of it, Rai had once again cupped his hands and formed the same attack from earlier. Kai tried to moved, but he felt that his legs were suddenly weighed down. When he looked down, he found that Rai had tied his legs into the ground, preventing him from moving. Struggle as he might, Kai was trapped. Just then, Rai unleashed his attack.

"KA-ME-HA-ME-HA!" Rai roared.

With only a distance of five feet apart, there was no way Kai would have enough time to duck out of the way. The air was lit up by a flash of blue light that came from Rai's attack. A large dust cloud was formed from Kai's spot, Rai panted from the lack of energy. But when the dust cloud disappeared, not a single trace was left of Kai. He had somehow got away.

"You have got to be kidding me." Rai groaned as he fell back in the grass. "What was up with that guy?"

It was a strange day. He was kicked out of his teacher's house, fought against a sadistic psychopath, blew up a world famous place, and now was too tired to even move. Maybe he could find his father tomorrow?

* * *

The scene returns to the hidden mountain base of Naga the Snake. Naga was roaming down the corridors with his faithful pet, Nagini, at his side. All the servants' coward against the wall as their master passed by. Nagini stared at them with a hungry look.

"Now, now, Nagini." Naga said malevolently. "We need to keep a few of them alive. How else are we going to get anything done around here?"

Nagini hissed in a language that only Naga could understand. Whatever she had said, Naga laughed. Just then, Kai materialized out of nowhere in front of his master. He looked weak and frightened; Sweat was dripping down his face.

"Kai, what are you doing here?" Naga questioned irritably.

"I'm sorry, my lord." Kai gasped. "But I was unable to complete my mission."

"That is unlike you, Kai." Naga said in disgust. He walked past the human with Nagini slithering at his side. "Don't fail me again unless you wish to feel the wrath of Lord Naga!"

"My lord, they falling." Kai said suddenly. "The Organization is close to its end."

Naga stopped in his track and turned to Kai with a look of interest. Naga hissed something to Nagini and she slithered away. There were bloodcurdling screams coming from down the dark corridors, but neither Kai nor Naga paid any mind.

"How can you be so sure?" Naga said apprehensively.

"I heard them." Kai said. "The Organization underestimated the boy. They are slowly dying away."

"If what you say is true," Naga said, suddenly cheerful. "Then this could be the opportunity we've been looking for. Kai, I have a new mission for you. Keep an eye on the Organization. Wait until the last of them is gone."

"But what about Rai?" Kai asked.

"Forget about him!" Naga screeched impatiently. "Let me worry about the boy! You just do as you are told!"

"As you wish, my lord." Kai bowed

He gave one last look to Naga before vanishing into the darkness. Naga had not been this pleased since the day he kidnapped the newborn Sonic. He didn't care that he was standing in a pool of blood. Earlier, Naga told Nagini to "have fun" and resulted in the massacre of nearly every servant in the corridor. But Naga didn't care if all his servants were dead. The Organization was falling; his plan was one step closer to completion. No one could ruin this. No one except...

"Rai..." Naga hissed. "He could ruin everything. If he comes in contact with his father, they could reveal my secrets to Sonic. If that happens, my plans will be ruined." He slams his fist into the wall as Nagini drapes herself over his shoulders. "Your son has become a great annoyance to me, Eggman."

* * *

**WTF?! Eggman is Rai's father! How will this new developement change the face of the war? How did Kai come to obtain his abilities? And what is this Organization they speak of? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	45. An Eggcellent Day

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Chapter Forty-Five: An Egg-cellent Day

The scene opens up at the Station Square Mall. Jet felt like he was living a nightmare; he kept punching himself in hopes of waking up. The reason for Jet's grief is that Amy and Kumori once again decided to go shopping. Wave said she wanted to buy new parts for the new Extreme Gear she was making. Wave pleaded Jet to come and, unable to resist her, accepted. He regretted the decision at once when he was forced carrying piles of cloths, weapons, and machine parts.

"Are you done yet?" Jet whined for the twelfth time today.

"No, so there's no point in beating yourself up." Wave stated.

"Although, it does add a bit of entertainment." Kumori grinned.

"When will this nightmare be over?" Jet groaned.

"We're going all the way." Amy said cheerfully. "We've already done this floor, so it's on to the next."

"We'll at least it almost over." Jet sighed. "I mean, how many levels could this mal have?"

"There are seventy-two floors." Wave stated.

Jet wanted to die on the spot. Wave, he could tolerate. But add Amy and Kumori and you are practically in hell. Jet wished more then anything that something interesting would happen. No soon did he think it, a large explosion erupted from the fifth floor.

"Finally, some action!" Jet cheered, dropping all the shopping bags.

The three females rushed to the elevators, soon followed by Jet. But before Jet's foot even touched the elevator floor, Amy, he eyes inflamed, pushed the emerald bird back. Jet would ask why she did it, but he had enough not to question an angry Amy.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Amy said, tapping her foot impatiently. Jet was baffled until she pointed to the shopping bags he dropped. "You better pick those up. Remember what happened last time."

That was enough to get Jet motivated. He quickly paced back and picked up the massive piles of bags off the floor. He tried to rush back to the elevator, but the door. Jet growled furiously as he trudged up the stairs, weighed down by the bags. Up on the fifth level, Mephiles emerged from the debris of the jewelry store they had just destroyed. Tomo came after him, stopping Nack from stealing the scattered jewels on the ground.

"Sit still, you idiot!" Tomo said, hitting the weasel over the head. "Ugh, why did we bring him in the first place?"

"He was irritating Lord Nazo." Mephiles said simply. "Besides, we've got what we came for."

Mephiles held out both of his claws. In one claw, he held the purple Chaos Emerald Nazo lend him for this assignment. In the other, he held a purple square-cut emerald: The purple Sol Emerald.

"Why exactly did we need a Chaos Emerald for that?" Tomo questioned; Nack was squirming under her foot.

"Lord Nazo says they seem to form an unknown link." Mephiles explained. "They may appear different, but their power frequencies are almost exactly the same. Lord Nazo wishes to examine them closely."

"He's going to have a hard time doing that without the emeralds."

Mephiles looked to his right as a red hammer suddenly zoomed into sight. Amy swatted her hammer as she zoomed by, literally knocking Mephiles head off, and Wave stole the emeralds a moment later. Tomo began to perform a series of hand signs when Kumori jumped in connected her heel with the chameleons face. Nack, free from Tomo's grip, scampered back into the jewelry store. Mephiles casually walked over and placed his head back on his shoulders. At that precise moment, Jet came along, panting.

"They need more elevators in this place." Jet wheezed.

"Why do you want this thing?" Wave questioned, holding up the Sol Emerald.

"That's a question we want answered." Tomo said coolly.

"Well, if Nazo wants it, it can't be any good." Kumori said.

"Be a good pack of rats and hand over the emeralds." Mephiles said.

"And if we don't?" Amy glared.

"I am so glad you asked me that." Mephiles sniggered.

Mephiles formed a black version of Shadow's Chaos Lance in his claws. Tomo formed a series of hand signs and spat out a massive fireball. Amy and Wave held up their weapons and Kumori went for a direct assault. On one side, we had the heroes. On the other, we have the villains. And in between the two attacking, we have Jet standing like an idiot.

"Why me?" Jet moaned.

* * *

The scene changes to night time at the Sonic Heroes base. After hours of fighting Mephiles, Tomo, and occasionally, Nack, they dragged their feet back home. They were exhausted, but had managed to obtain the Chaos and Sol Emeralds. The mall was half destroyed when they left it; they escaped before they received the bill. Unfortunately, during the fight, all of Amy's purchases were burned; Amy promised to beat Jet later.

"Finally, we're home." Wave moaned.

"Why do you think they wanted this thing?" Kumori asked groaning; she held up the Sol Emerald.

"I don't know." Amy said, slightly yawning. "But it does kinda reminds you of the Chaos Emeralds, doesn't it?"

"What do you think, Jet?" Kumori asked. No response. "Jet?"

The two female hedgehogs, their vision blurry from sleepiness, searched the dark living room for said bird. They didn't find him, but heard a loud snore. The noise was coming from the couch. The two females stared for a moment before edging themselves closer. They smiled at the sight of Jet and Wave fast asleep, cuddling against one another.

"Maybe we should let them sleep." Kumori said. "We'll worry about the emerald in the morning."

They left the two love birds on the couch while they dropped the emeralds in the storage room. The two enjoyed the peaceful sleep, not knowing what strange occurrence they would experience. The next morning came quick. The rising sun past over the living room window and glared at the emerald hawk. Jet was waking, closely followed by Wave. The gazed lovingly at one another before sitting up. But all of a sudden, they back were aching terribly.

"Man, this couch is lumpy." Jet groaned.

"Amy needs to make better decision about..." Wave trailed off.

Jet eyes traced over to Wave, who had her mouth hanging wide open. A fly nearly flew down her throat. It was very uncommon to see the purple swallow act this way, unless it's over a new Gear part. Jet followed her gaze and found he too was gaping. Meanwhile, in the room Amy and Kumori shared. Both girls were pleasantly dreaming about catching their loves when a piercing scream woke them. Kumori fell over the side of her bed.

"What was that?" Amy asked surprised.

"Sounds like it came from the living room." Kumori stated.

They both made a dash out of the room, both still in their pajamas, and screeched to a halt as they entered the living room. Both Jet and Wave were sitting against the wall, both pale as ghosts.

"What happened?" Amy asked.

"E-e-e-e-e-e-e..." Jet stammered repeatedly.

"Huh?" Kumori questioned.

Realizing they weren't getting the message, Wave lifted her hand and pointed back on the couch. The female hedgehogs walked over and were surprised by their findings. A small blue egg lying perfectly still on the cushions.

"That's it?" Kumori glared. "You're all worried about some egg?"

"I don't think that's just any egg." Amy said smiling.

"What do you mean?" Kumori asked.

"You're smart. Think about it." Amy said excitedly. "Two birds sleeping together and find an egg the next day."

"So you're saying..." Kumori gasped.

"Jet's a father!" Amy cheered.

"NO!!" Jet screamed. "There's no way that can be mine! Tell 'em, Wave."

"I...don't know, Jet." Wave said hesitantly. "I mean, it certainly looks that way. I mean, we have been very close and maybe something happened while we were sleeping."

"You're not saying..." Jet asked frightened.

"I think..." Wave said with more determination. "No, I know it's true." She gathered up her courage and walked over to the couch. She gently grabbed the egg and held it lovingly. "This is our baby, Jet."

Wave cuddled her egg close while Amy and Kumori cooed at her shoulder. Jet, on the other hand, looked ready to explode. Nothing happened last nigh, he kept telling himself. Some one had set that egg there as a joke! There was no way he could be the father of some egg! He tried to tell this to Wave, but it was no doing. She carried the egg away, smiling fondly down to it.

"You must be excited to be a dad, Jet." Amy said, mistaking his confusion for happiness. "I wonder what it will be."

"Hopefully nothing like Jet." Kumori joked. "The world is bad enough with one mindless birdbrain."

The girls laughed heartily, but Jet found no humor in the joke. He later set himself down at the table for breakfast. With everyone else out on missions, it was just him and the girls in the base. Kumori sat across from him while Amy was in the kitchen. Amy always did the cooking since she was the only one capable of not burning the food. Ironically enough, today's breakfast was…

"Egg?" Jet said irritably.

"We would have had a better fill." Amy said. "But _someone_ burned all the food we bought at the mall yesterday."

"Hey, Tomo was the one burning everything!" Jet stated angrily. "If you want to yell at someone, take it to her. Personally, I had enough eggs for one lifetime."

"I thought you would be excited about being a father, Jet." Kumori said.

"Well, you're wrong." Jet said nastily. "Being a father has to be the worst punishment ever."

"How can you say that?" Amy glared.

"I say that because I mean it." Jet said venomously. "I'm like the wind, free to do as I please. I don't need some stupid brat holding me down. When I get a chance, I'm turning that egg into breakfast."

"Is…that how you really feel?"

Amy and Kumori swerved around swiftly, but Jet remained in place. Wave had just walked in during Jet's verbal assault. She was clutching the egg, which was wrapped in blankets to keep it warm. Wave looked hurt, but Jet either acted like he didn't notice or he didn't care. Amy and Kumori were blathering up any excuse they could come up with.

"No, no, Jet was joking." Kumori said feebly.

"Yeah, he's really happy for you." Amy followed.

But Wave ignored the two female and walked up to Jet. The emerald bird made no eye contact as Wave was a few feet from him. He did glance at the egg momentarily, giving it an evil look.

"Jet, I want a straight answer." Wave said; her voice breaking. "Do you care about our kid or not.

Jet didn't speak, but that was answer enough for Wave. She was normally able to suppress such feeling as sadness, but this hit Wave hard. Tears leaking from her eyes, Wave stormed out of the base, the egg clutched to her chest. She made a quick run for her Gear and escaped into the forest. Jet remained unmoving, prodding his breakfast, while Amy and Kumori were ranting.

"How could you be so heartless?!" Amy roared. "Don't you care about anyone but yourself?"

"Did you see the look on Wave's face?" Kumori glared. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Pass the salt?" Jet shrugged.

Amy whacked him over the head with her hammer while Kumori kicked him in the chest. But they realized they had other matters to deal with. Giving Jet one last kick, Kumori raced after Amy to chase down Wave. Jet meanwhile, look unbothered, staring disappointedly at his ruined meal.

* * *

The scene changes over to the central plaza of Station Square. The crowds of people were eye a purple swallow, who was crying with an egg held to her chest, as she passed by. But Wave didn't care what they thought. How could Jet just abandon his own child? Wave had always agreed that he was great leader; a little ignorant, but great. Being a father wasn't that bad was it? Jet's father, Accel the Hawk, must have thought that, too. Accel…maybe he –

"Wave!" Wave turned on her heels as Amy and Kumori, both shaken, ran up to her. "Wave, are you ok?"

"What do you think, genius?" Kumori commented. "The father of her kid threatened to kill it and you ask if she's ok?"

"I'm just trying to be supportive!" Amy snapped. "You could do the same yourself, faker!"

"What did you call me?!" Kumori screeched.

"Guys, enough!" Wave cut in. Amy and Kumori silenced sadly. "Listen, I know that I'm a little upset about Jet. But I'm not worried. Somehow, I know he'll grow use to the idea of being a father."

"You really think so?" Amy asked hopefully.

"If I know jet, he will." Wave smiled.

Wave wasn't sure if she was right, but she felt confident. Jet was just in shock and would come around eventually. Wave walked around the plaza, spirits raised, conversing Amy and Kumori about what the baby would look like. Wave nearly killed Kumori when she made the idea that her child would end up like Storm. All in all, it was almost a good day. Keyword being almost.

"Such a sickening sight." The girls turned and looked towards the roof of a local café. Tomo stood at the edge with Mephiles and Nack on either side; Nack missing half his teeth from yesterday. "It's almost as disgusting as watch Mephiles and Shira."

"My, I had no idea you were the jealous type, Tomo." Mephiles sniggered; Nack Roared in laughter.

"Shut it!" Tomo snapped.

"What do you clowns want?" Amy sneered.

"We 'clowns' want the emeralds back." Nack said, suddenly dazed. "Those big, bright beautiful, precious…" Tomo slapped him back to his senses. "I'm ok!"

"Well, for you information, we don't have them." Wave stated.

"That's all right." Mephiles said malevolently. "We could always have some fun with you three."

"Get them!" Nack screamed. Mephiles and Tomo stared at him oddly. "Please?"

Shaking his head, Mephiles jumped off the roof with his claw held out. He was aiming for Wave when Kumori suddenly jumped in. She spun around and directed her foot at the time demon. Mephiles raised his arms to block and was thrown to the side. Kumori rushed behind Mephiles with her speed, readying her fist to strike. But Mephiles having experience from fighting Shadow, flipped over the punch and grasped her arm as he landed.

"How disappointing." Mephiles said coolly. "And here I thought this would at least be entertaining."

"Don't worry." Kumori said. "The fun is only beginning."

Kumori flipped over and the battle continued. Meanwhile, Tomo unsheathed her katana and lunged herself at Amy. The pink hedgehog whipped out her Piko-Piko Hammer. The two clashed with Tomo slightly pushed back from the impact. They held their weapons against each other, but there no denying that Amy was the superior. Using whatever strength he had left, Tomo pushed Amy's hammer to the side and swung around with a blinding kick. As Amy staggered back, Tomo performed a series of hand signs.

"Fire style: Great fireball jutsu!" Tomo exclaimed.

Taking in a deep breath, Tomo blew out a massive fireball. Amy wasn't scared. She readied her hammer and swung at the burning flames. The bundle of fire was sent skyward, exploding in a flurry of flames.

"I must admit, that was highly impressive." Tomo complimented.

"You haven't seen anything yet." Amy returned.

Amy and Tomo made a dash for each other. In the meantime, Wave was facing off against the insufferable Nack. The only problem was, he's the sharpest shooter in the world. He pulled out his signature shotgun and fired a few choice shot at the swallow. Wave normally rolled away, but with the egg in hand; she didn't want to take any chances. She held out her wrench to block the shots, but most of them passed through. One shot managed to drill into her leg, forcing her to the ground. Unconsciously, she released the egg, which rolled near Nack's feet.

"What's this?" Nack sniggered as he picked up the egg.

"Stay away from my baby!" Wave screeched.

"Your kid, huh?" Nack grinned evilly. "Well, I haven't eaten any breakfast. I think some scrambled eggs will do."

Nack raised the egg over his head hungrily. Wave staggered on her injured leg, wanting desperately to run and protect her egg. Nack dropped the egg and closed his mouth over it when...

"Stay away from my kid!"

Next thing they knew, hard foot knocked out the rest of Nack's broken teeth. While Nack ran to the nearest dentist, Jet landed with the egg safely in his hands. He walked over to Wave, who was staring in shock, and held out the egg for her to take back. She gratefully took it, but she was still confused on Jet's reaction.

"Sorry, I took so long." Jet said sheepishly. "You wouldn't believe the kind of traffic on the way here."

"I don't get it." Wave gasped. "I didn't think you would change your mind so quickly."

"To tell you the truth," Jet said hesitantly. "When I found out about the egg, I was scared."

"Scared?" Wave repeated. "Of what?"

"When we were little, you know our fathers went out on a mission." Jet said apprehensively. Wave nodded slowly. "When they never came back, they were presumed dead. We were left on our own after that. With Nazo and Eggman, there's a good chance the same thing will happen to our kid. I don't want him to go through that."

"Jet, we won't be dying for a long time." Wave said calmingly. "And even if we do, he won't be alone. There will be others to look out for him: Storm, Sonic, Amy. We can rest peacefully, knowing he's in good hands."

"Thanks, Wave." Jet smiled. "I needed that. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to finish this fight off."

Back with the fight, Mephiles and Tomo surprisingly overwhelmed Amy and Kumori. The female hedgehogs were thrown against the wall. Tomo waved her katana threateningly and Mephiles preparing for another Chaos Lance. As they closed in, Jet suddenly flipped in front of the girls with his fans out. The arrogant villains chuckled and thought nothing threatening about him. Suddenly, both his green ark started glowing as the emerald bird blew his fans.

"GRAVITY GUST!" Jet shouted.

The pressure built from his fans blew at everything within a mile. Everything it touched suddenly grew lighter and was carried away by the wind, Mephiles and Tomo included. Mephiles quickly conjured an orb of energy and teleported both villains away. They would get Nack later.

"Jet, you were great!" Amy cheered.

"I knew you had it in you." Kumori grinned.

"You see, Jet." Wave said happily, holding her egg. "Our baby doesn't have anything to worry about. Its parents aren't going anywhere."

Yeah, I guess you're right." Jet said

"Look, the egg!" Amy suddenly exclaimed.

Quiet unexpectedly, the egg started moving. The four gasped and eagerly waited for the newborn to break from its shell. The shell started to crack; there was movement inside. Finally, a large gap opened at the top and...

"Chao!"

Much to their surprise, it was a chao that popped out of the egg instead of a bird.

"He has your eyes, Jet." Kumori joked.

"Oh, I can't believe I forgot!" Amy slapped her head.

"Forgot what?" Wave asked.

"Cheese was going through his rebirthing cycle and Cream asked me to watch his egg." Amy explained. "I was watching it on the couch when we decided to go to the mall. I had completely forgotten about it until now."

Jet sighed in relief, but Wave didn't seem all that happy. Though she was still young, she was really looking forward to being a mother. She had dreamed of the life she would experience with Jet and their child. She felt a hand on her shoulder and found Jet lingering over her.

"I know what you're thinking, Wave." Jet said. "We have plenty of time until then."

Yeah, I guess you right." Wave said proudly.

Amy picked up the newborn Cheese and departed with Kumori and the Rogues back to their home. The experience was for nothing thought. To Jet and Wave, they were closer than ever.

* * *

The scene changed to a far off island on the other side of the world. Deep in the vast jungle, a trio of characters was traversing through the harsh wilderness. Two of the trio was recognized as Gale the Hedgehog, Sonic's father, and Wrist the Echidna, Knuckles father. But the third one was new. He was a red hedgehog about Gale's age with six quills curved downwards and three bangs jutting from his forehead. He wore simple black boots, white gloves, golden earring in his left ear, and a flowing black cloak. He was Thorn Rose, Amy and Rector's father.

"Are you sure there here?" Wrist complained again; cutting down another tree.

"My senses tell me they are." Thorn said. "I have never been wrong before."

"I never really did like magic." Wrist said. "Especially when the controller is an animagus."

"You want to make something of it, echidna?" Thorn glared.

"Shut up, you two." Gale cut in. "I think I see something."

Gale pushed aside the next brush and opened a path into a small clearing where two figures were seated. One was a green hawk with five spike feathers on his head, white feathers on his chest and a scar over his right eye and the left side of his beak. He wore silver and green boots with black racing gloves and an armored pad on his left shoulder. The other was a purple male swallow with four large feathers draped down his back. He wore a blue vest, white gloves with black cuffs, red and white running shoes, and a red bandana tied to his right arm.

"Hey, look who its." The hawk said, noticing the group. "Gale and friends! How are you doing?"

"This is isn't the time for pleasantries, Hawk." Thorn said.

"Uh oh, Thorn's serious." The swallow joked. "This must be bad news."

"It is." Wrist said. "Naga's back."

"Naga!" The Swallow exclaimed. "I thought he died years ago!"

"Well, apparently, he's back." Gale said seriously. "We need the whole crew back if we want to have a chance to beat him."

"If that's the case, you can count on us." The Hawk said.

"Thank you, Accel, Mech." Gale said gratefully.

* * *

**There are many worries, but hope remains the same. Will the Heroes discover the secret of the Sol Emeralds? Will Gale's crew be enough to defeat Naga? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	46. Chaotic Quest

****

SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES

Bionicle © Lego

Chapter Forty-Six: Chaotic Quest

The scene opens into the Sonic Heroes base, inside the storage room. As you may already know, the room contains relics of the Sonic Heroes' past victories, which now holds the two Chaos Emeralds and one Sol Emerald. Chaos was peacefully meditating on top of the Master Emerald as usual. And as usual, Blue was talking to Tikal on the steps of the shrine-like base.

"You were seriously forced to survive on you own in the wilderness for three days?" Blue exclaimed in shock.

It was often that the two would always have something to talk about. Blue would tell her about his missions and the outside world, while Tikal would describe the way the world was centuries ago. She now reached up to the subject of her father's teachings.

"My father said in was a rite of passage." Tikal frowned. "We echidna's were a proud warrior race, expected to fight for our lives." Tikal looked down sadly. "My father said I was a disgrace; I returned home only after one night."

"What does he know?!" Blue exclaimed suddenly. "You don't need to be muscle to be strong. You have other qualities that make you special. You're kind, thoughtful, and beuti..." Blue sputter at the last word, Tikal stare in wonderment. "I-I mean...you are dead useful. Who cares what you father thinks?"

"Thanks, Blue." Tikal said smiling; she stood up. "It's been nearly an hour. I must return to the Master Emerald. See you, tomorrow, Blue."

As Tikal motioned her way to the Master Emerald, Blue stood up, too. Blue stared longingly at the departing echidna's back. He didn't know why, but he shot out his claw, hoping to touch her. But his hand phased through hers. As Tikal reformed into a ball of light, reality crashed down on the poor clone. She was a spirit; no physical form. Blue sighed heavily and left the room. He dragged himself to the table, where Amy was serving lunch and Cream was feeding the newly reborn Cheese.

"Good boy, Cheese." Cream smiled as the chao ate. "You'll grow big and strong soon."

"Here you go, Blue." Amy said, setting a plate in front of the clone. It was Amy who noticed the clone's sad expression. "Hey, what's wrong? Did you just go and see Tikal again?"

"How'd you know that?" Blue asked surprised.

"Who doesn't know?" Cream laughed. "You're always disappearing to Tikal. It's really obvious."

"So what's the matter?" Amy asked.

"I see her everyday, but I can't never truly be with her." Blue said sadly. "We talk and everything, but she's still a spirit. Do you know how difficult it is to be with someone, but never truly to with them at all?"

"You must really love her." Cream said.

"Wh-what?" Blue sputtered. "I don't love her!" Amy and Cream stared expectantly. "Ok, I do! But it doesn't matter now? I can't love someone who isn't there."

"Well, there might be one way." Cream said. Blue looked at her in anticipation. "There's a flower that, rumor has it, can bring wandering spirits back to life. That how it got its name: Life Lily."

"How do you know this?" Blue questioned.

"Cream knows a lot about plants." Amy said. "Even more then a normal person."

"But if this thing exists, why aren't people popping back from the dead?" Blue questioned.

"The Life Lily blooms once every five hundred years." Cream explained, ignoring Amy's earlier comment. "Once it blooms, it only has a twelve hour lifespan. If I'm right, its next blooming period should have started today."

"Then that's my mission." Blue said seriously. "I'll find that flower and bring Tikal back."

* * *

The scene changes to the Egg-Carrier III, which was floating over the Mediterranean Sea. Eggman was locked away in his chamber, obsession over some plot. Bokkun, being the deviant he was, overheard Eggman's plan and informed the rest of the crew. Eggman was looking for his son, Rai. But the others didn't really seem all concerned. As of now, Metal and Violet were in the Clone creation room; check the production of black clones.

"Things seem to be running smoothly." Metal said pleasantly.

"Much better then last week's batch." Violet said. "Can you believe they ate seventeen years worth of supplies in under an hour?"

"At least Metal Espio got rid of them." Metal said. just then, Metal Espio jumped down from out of nowhere in front of them. "Speaking of whom. Metal Espio, what is it that you want?"

"Metal, sir, you told us to report anything if the heroes are up to something." Metal Espio said respectfully. "Metal Jet was listening through the bug in the Heroes' base and found something interesting."

"Get on with it!" Violet exclaimed irritably. "I'm starting to fall asleep here."

"Anyway, we've got word that Blue is on a mission." Metal Espio informed. "Apparently, he is traveling to the Mangaia Mountains in search of the legendary Life Lily."

"The Life Lily?" Violet repeated. "I thought that was only a legend."

"You know of it?" Metal Questioned.

"Only some." Violet said. "Legend has that the Life Lily can bring wandering spirits back to life."

"A power Nazo could gratefully benefit." Metal said thoughtfully. "We can't allow him or anyone to reach it." He turned his attention towards Violet. "Violet, gather as many clones needed and destroy that flower."

"There goes my Saturday." Violet muttered.

* * *

The seen changes to a far-off island several miles west of South Island. The island was a paradise untouched by modern day technology. Mata Nui, according to ancient archeologist, was what the island was named by its former inhabitants. Though a paradise it was, there ruins scattered across the land and several marking made by beasts. In the center of the island stood the fabled mountain of Mangaia. Blue, using chaos control, landed safely at the foot of the mountain.

"Cream said the flower would bloom at the highest point of the island." Blue muttered to himself. The most obvious point would be the mountain. But when Blue stared up the mountain, he nearly toppled backwards. "Why are things never easy?"

So, somewhat unwilling, Blue forced himself to climb up the side of the mountain. But unknown to him, he was being closely watched. Violet, along with three black clones, appeared on the island a minute after Blue.

"It seems my brother is going for the flower after all." Violet said amusingly.

"What shall we do, your highness?" One of the clones asked; this batch was smarter than the others.

"Highness, I like that." Violet commented. "Just do your jobs to stall him long enough while I search for the flower."

"Yes, ma'am!" The clones bowed and scattered.

Back with Blue, the chaos clone, diligently crawled up the mountain side with his mind set on his target. If he completed this mission, he could finally be with Tikal. This set in his mind, Blue pushed himself harder. A few minutes later, Blue crawled up to a cliff. Panting, he looked up. He was still only half way up the mountain, but he was making excellent progress.

"I guess those rock climbing contests with Knuckles and finally starting to pay off." Blue chuckled. "Only a few more and I'm there."

Blue reached to grab the mountainside when a sudden black blur darted toward him. Seeing this, the chaos clone back flipped away, nearly falling off the cliffside. After maintaining his stability, he looked back and found three black clones in his path.

"Aw, you guys again?" Blue groaned. "What do you three want this time."

"We're here on a mission." The leader clone said. "We must stop you from reaching the Life Lily at all cost."

"Hey, you guess can talk properly." Blue said amusingly. "That's a good thing. Or maybe a bad thing." Blue started muttering while scratching his head. "You guys can talk, so now I can understand you. but on the other hand, that means you're smart than normal. Ah, I'm so confused!"

"You not the only one." One of the clones said.

"But when you think about, is there even a good or bad side." Blue said philosophically.

"Can we just get to the part where we beat each other up!" The leader yelled.

"Sounds good to me." Blue shrugged.

The three black clones swarmed around Blue from all sides, making it impossible for him to make an escape. With three clones in front and a fifty foot drop in back, things didn't suit too well for our hero. Simultaneously, the black clones raised their claws and drove them into the ground. The force of the impact shattered the cliffside away, taking Blue along with it. the three clones looked down the broken cliff they created, looking for any sign of Blue's survival. There was none.

"See anything?" The leader asked.

"Nothing." One of the followers said. "Looks like he's finished."

"You know, I wouldn't have expected it to be that easy." The other said.

"That's because it isn't."

The trio turned on their heel surprisingly. Blue was dangling from the mountainside, clutching a purple chaos emerald in his claw. He had apparently used Chaos Control to stop time and push himself back up the mountain.

"Miss me?" Blue said amusingly.

"Kill him!" The leader screeched.

Unfortunately for them, Blue now had the advantage. Having the higher ground, Blue could target the black clones and thrash them back with his extended arms. One of the clones tried to do the same thing, but met with an unfortunate result. Metal may have increased their intelligence, but it had dissolved their shape shifting abilities. With no way to reach Blue, the trio of clones tried to throw anything they could to knock him down. Being made of liquid chaos, rocks proved inefficient against Blue.

"Get down here and take it like a man!" The leader screamed.

"But I'm not a man." Blue stated.

"You know what we mean!" The leader screeched.

"You know, I'm getting bored." Blue stated. "Why don't we end this quickly."

Blue released himself from his position and dropped down to the cliff below. While in midair, he curled himself into a ball and started spinning in circles. Once he was close to the ground, he released himself with his foot held out. his heel made contact with the ground and created a impact that Gale the Hedgehog would be proud of. The remaining fragments of the cliffside broke off; Blue stretched his arm to grab the mountain. He watch, disappointedly, as the trio of black clones tried to mimic him, seconds before hey were crushed under the weight of the rock fragments.

"I must admit, even I feel sorry for them." Blue shrugged.

Blue returned to his mission; the sky was starting to get dark. His time was nearly up. Realizing this, Blue quickened his pace. In a matter of moments, Blue heaved himself over the last rock and found himself at the top. The scenery was unexpected as the Chaos clone found himself in the ruins of a ancient temple. Blue wandered inside the temple, checking every corridor in search of the fabled flower. His search had been unsuccessful until he reached the center of the temple. He had walked into a circular chamber; the roof torn off, revealing the starry sky. Under the moonlight, Blue spotted a pure white lily growing through the cracks in the floor: the Life Lily!

"Finally, I found it." Blue gasped, racing over to pick the lily. "Now I can use it to revive Tikal."

"Not while I'm around."

In an unexpected appearance, Violet dropped down from the sky and twirled around to kick the lily from his claw. The glistening flower was tossed over to the floor near the wall. Blue nursed his claw as Violet came to a landing.

"Pleasant to see you again, Blue." Violet said.

"Wish I could say the same." Blue growled. "Look, I'm already ticked enough from those fakers you sent after me. why don't you make it easy on both of us and get out of my way."

"No can do." Violet said amusingly. "I have specific orders to stop anyone from getting that flower."

"You're my sister!" Blue roared. "We were born from the same DNA! If you care anything about our family, you will let me grab that flower and leave! I need it to help someone!"

"That's just the thing." Violet said seriously. "I don't care about our family. If fact, their isn't even a family left. All of our brothers were killed in the first battle. I believe you were the one that helped kill them."

"It's not like I had a choice." Blue said feebly. "They were..."

"You did have a choice, brother!" Violet cut in. "You tossed you consideration for your "family" aside and willingly destroyed them. Admit it, you are just as heartless as I am."

"You're wrong!" Blue exclaimed. "I do have a heart and it's telling me to get that lily."

"Then come, brother." Violet challenged.

Blue and Violet held open their claws, each of them sharpened and extended. Their feuding siblings ran ahead at one another, swinging their claws as they passed by. The clash echoed throughout the empty temple, like metal hitting against metal. Blue swung around and launched his claw directly at his sister's back. Even without looking, Violet had already seen his attack. She gracefully jumped over his claw and beautifully back flipped in midair; the moonlight glinting through her aquatic body. She landed behind her brother and through her claw at his head. Lucky enough, Blue raised his forearm to block it.

"Not bad." Violet commented. "You certainly are more aware than before."

"This is only the beginning." Blue stated.

"Let's hope so." Violet said. "This is just starting to get fun."

Blue shoved his sister back, retracting his arm, and swung around for a low kick. Violet tripped backward, but flipped back on her claws just before Blue stamped his foot down. Violet flipped into the air, tossing her claws at her brother in the process. Blue sidestepped to dodge both. But unknown to him, Violet had sent her foot flying, crashing into the side of her brother's face. Blue tumbled across the floor, smashing down the wall he collided with. He groaned, throwing the weight of the broken wall off his back. Once he senses were regained, he noticed something in front of him: the Life Lily. He grabbed the lily, seconds before Violet grabbed his ankle.

"Not so fast!" Violet roared.

Violet tossed Blue up into the air, forcing him to let go of the lily in mid flight. Blue was thrown against another wall, toppling it. As Blue dug himself out, Violet picked the hovering lily out of the air.

"G-give that back." Blue said weakly. "I need it."

"I don't get it." Violet said intriguingly. "Why would you go so far for such a little thing. You not like Nazo, so you would have no need to resurrect anything for an army. I sincerely doubt that would wish to bring back our brothers. So why?"

"Tikal..." Blue said weakly. "I need it to bring her back."

"But why would you give up such a gift for her?" Violet asked.

"All her life, Tikal has been looked down upon." Blue stated. "Her villagers shunned her and her father disgraced her. She barely had a chance to live her own life. I want to give her something no one else has: a second chance."

Violet remained silent from that point, staring down at the ghostly flower in her claw. Something was stirring in her chest; a sensation she had never felt before. She looked back at her brother; the sensation came back. She used her moments in thought, staring back at forth between the flower and Blue. Finally, she spoke again.

"You love her, don't you?" Violet asked heavily.

"More then you could ever know." Blue replied.

"Then, I shall grant you this." Violet said, holding out the Life Lily.

"But, why?" Blue asked in shock.

"I think we both know who deserves this." Violet said. "Besides, you're my brother after all."

"But what about you orders?" Blue asked.

"I tried and failed." Violet answered simply. "Take it, brother."

This was too good to be true, but Violet eyes showed that she was sincere. This was his chance. Now he and Tikal could finally be together. Blue reached out to take the lily from his sister. But before he could even touch it, the lily suddenly went grey and wilted. As Violet unexpectedly dropped the flower, realization crashed down on Blue. His twelve hours were up.

"No!" Blue cried.

"Wh-what happened?" Violet asked shakily.

"The Life Lily only has a twelve hour lifespan." Blue explained. "We wasted the last few moments fighting each other."

"I'm sorry, brother." Violet said before disappearing into the shadows. "I am truly sorry."

"I know, sister." Blue said mournfully. "I know."

* * *

The journey back home was more unpleasant then the going trip. The weight of knowing he failed was tremendous, but he had somehow managed to find his way back home. It was morning and the sun was just rising. The heroes would soon be awake. He first returned to the storage room and placed the purple Chaos Emerald back in its slot. He tried to get out fast, not wanting to see Tikal's face right now. But unfortunately, things never go as planned.

"Blue?"

Blue stopped stiff and slowly turned around towards the Master Emerald as Tikal rematerialized. She seemed quite concerned as she landed gently on the emerald shrine base. Blue knew their was no way of avoid it, so he hesitantly walked near the steps. He didn't walk up them; it was hard just being this close to her.

"Blue, where have you been?" Tikal asked worriedly. "I been searching for your energy every since this morning."

"I've been to Mata Nui." Blue answered.

"Why?" Tikal asked, knowing the island quite well.

"I was looking for the Life Lily." Blue replied sadly. "I was hoping of using it to bring you back. But it died before I could reach it."

"Blue." Tikal said softly. "You really didn't..."

Tikal was cut off when she suddenly tripped on the shrine steps. She fell fast, but Blue caught her safely in his arms.

"Watch you step." Blue joked.

"That was scary." Tikal said. "Thanks for catching me."

It took a few moments before she realized what she had just said. Blue had _caught_ Tikal. But how was that possible? Spirits can't trip or be touched. Blue shifted Tikal into his arm and he could feel all of her movements. Tikal stared at her own hands; they appeared to be solid. To make sure, she reached up and touched Blue's face. She could feel the aquatic base of Blue's skin and her palms suddenly became wet.

"I can feel you." Tikal gasped.

"Then that means..." Blue said in anticipation.

"I'm alive!" Tikal cheered.

Tikal jumped excitedly out of Blue's arms and landed on the floor. She slipped at first, not used to using her legs again, but eventually learn how to stand on her feet. The world was brighter to her and breathed joyously as the air refilled her lungs. She was so excited that she kissed Blue on the cheek; Blue turned to a puddle. During breakfast, Blue reintroduced Tikal to the rest of the heroes. They happily welcomed her and made her an official member of the Sonic Heroes. Since Wave was the only one who didn't have a room mate, the heroes asked her if she could share with Tikal. It took some doing, some people lost their teeth, but Wave eventually gave in. The only one who did seem to being celebrating was Chaos.

"_Why would you do such a thing?_" Chaos spoke in his language to the Master Emerald. "_It is not in you nature to be kind and care. What are you up to, Zeenint?_"

* * *

The scene changes, for the first time, inside the Master Emerald. Their was nothing but a large, empty void with emerald paneling to act as a ceiling. Floating around the endless void was its only occupant, a green hedgehog with five quills pointed upwards and a blue opal encrusted in his forehead. He wore simple white gloves and black shoes with white stripes. It was the former warlord of Parasiden and the creator of the Master Emerald: Master Zeenint.

"That may have wasted a bit of my power, but it add to some motivation." Zeenint chuckled in a sinister manner. "That clone may not know all of Chaos' abilities, but he will. For now, I'll just have to rely on Eise, along with Heat and Aero's reincarnations. My time is coming soon. Master Zeenint will rise again!"

The endless void was filled with the echoing laughter made by the invincible tyrant.

* * *

**Please welcome the newest hero: Tikal! What new adventures await our heroes? Why did Zeenint bring the echidna priestess back? What is the tyrant's evil plan? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	47. Fusion Frenzy, Part 1

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

DBZ © Toei

Chapter Forty-Seven: Fusion Frenzy, Part 1

The scene opens up to the dark dimension of the Dark Ruler's Castle. Nazo sat at his chamber upon his throne with the four Chaos Emeralds surrounding him. He once again summoned the board which he used to keep track of the battle. Most of the heroes were scattered; a select few were at the base, the Dark Rulers reminded idle at the castle, and Blaze was still on her own dimension. The power that has once inhabitant Blaze's dimension had disappeared and was now resonating in their own.

"_The Sol Emeralds have somehow moved their powers towards our world._" Nazo thought. "_But the question is why?_"

"Lord Nazo?"

Nazo turned sharply towards the sound of the voice; his face shown with irritability. His expression softened when he came face-to-face with Shira, whom was flinching fearfully.

"What is it, Shira?" Nazo questioned.

"Mephiles and the others have successfully located two of the Sol Emeralds." Shira said, holding the green and red Sol Emeralds to present to Nazo. "One belongs to the heroes, and they are still looking for the remaining four."

"There is no need." Nazo said, taking the two emeralds. "I already know that one emerald is safely locked away with Team Virtex."

"Then we should take it while we can." Shira said eagerly.

"That will have to wait another time." Nazo said. "For now, we must worry about retrieving my remaining Chaos Emeralds."

"How do you plan to get them from Metal and the heroes?" Shira asked.

"Retrieving the emerald from Metal will prove difficult." Nazo said thoughtfully. "And there is the matter of retrieving my memories from him. As for the heroes, there is more then one way to smoke out a rat."

* * *

The scene alters to the Sonic Heroes base. Shadow and Omega were in Tails workshop with the two Chaos Emeralds they had. Omega was hooked up the main computer while holding the glowing emeralds in his claws. Apparently, Shadow was trying to find a way to make the Chaos Fusion technique stronger and not cause him and Sonic bodily harm. Sonic was only there because he was bored.

"Are you done yet?" Sonic moaned for the seventeenth time.

"The process is delicate." Omega stated. "Every aspect must be taken with extreme caution. The slightest miscalculation could..."

"Ok, ok, I get!" Sonic exclaimed.

"_How did I get stuck with him for a partner?_" Shadow mentally growled.

Shadow shook his head before diving right back to work. At that moment, Amy and Kumori walked in with a truck load of shopping bags behind them. As they passed by, it was Sonic who found the pair of large feet beneath the bags.

"Enjoy the trip, Storm." Sonic smirked.

"Stop enjoying this!" Storm snapped.

"How did they convince you to go shopping with them in the first place?" Shadow asked. He looked back to the girls and found Amy with her hammer out and Kumori cracking her knuckles. "I'm sorry I asked."

"What are you doing, Sonic." Amy asked cutely; Sonic turned away to hide his blush.

"Uh...you know...stuff." Sonic said nervously.

"We're trying to figure a way to strengthen the limits of the Chaos Fusion." Shadow explained, grinning at Sonic's embarressed state. "We've managed to figure out how the fusion is operated. The problem is trying to figure a way for it not to backfire on us."

"You know, there is another way." Kumori stated simply. "A way to fuse without the Chaos Emeralds."

"WHAT?!" The heroes exclaimed. Storm dropped the shopping bags, receiving a killer headache from Amy.

"But that's improbable." Omega stated. "The force and energy require for such a technique would be impossible."

"It was easy for us." Amy said proudly.

"Is there something you're not telling us?" Sonic said suspiciously.

"It called the Fusion Dance." Kumori stated.

"Oh, not this again." Shadow groaned.

"What's the Fusion Dance?" Storm asked.

"It's nothing!" Shadow snapped. "It's just a myth!"

"It is not a myth!" Kumori yelled at Shadow. "The Fusion Dance is real!" She turned her head to the questioning few who were still listening. "The Fusion Dance is a series of moves that, if done correctly, can fuse two beings into one person."

"That sounds a whole lot easier than what we had to go through." Sonic grinned. "Eh, Shadow."

"Hmph!" Shadow said curtly.

"But there is a catch." Kumori said sheepishly.

"There always is." Omega stated.

"The two people must be the exact same height and species; otherwise, the fusion won't work." Kumori explained. "And if one makes a mistake during the dance, the results are...not pretty."

"How ridiculous." Shadow said. "You actually expect us to believe a few dance steps will fuse two people together."

"The Fusion Dance is real!" Amy exclaimed. "And we'll prove it! Kumori and I have been practicing!"

"Really?" Sonic asked eagerly. "Let's see it then."

Amy and Kumori glanced at each other and nodded their heads. They stepped back away from the males and stretched a few feet apart from each other. Sonic, Storm, and Omega watched with intrigue while Shadow merely scoffed. Amy and Kumori stretched their arms out in opposite directions, prepping up for the performance. But just as they were about to begin, the monitor on the computer suddenly changed and the G.U.N. commander appeared on the screen.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting anything." The commander said, noticing the female's poses.

"You're not interrupting at all." Shadow said; Kumori fumed.

"We've received word that Station Square is under attack." The commander explained.

"Again?" Sonic said annoyingly.

"Again." The commander repeated

"Who is it this time: Black Clones of Black Arms?" Amy asked

"Worse: Nazo." The commander said. The six heroes perked with interest. "Apparently, he has decided to take matters into his own hands. We need you to get out there and stop him at all costs."

"At once, commander." Shadow saluted. The commander disappeared off screen. "Now we can get back to reality. I think we've had enough of the stupid little dance recital."

"The Fusion Dance is real and I'll prove one day." Kumori stated.

"Can we save the fighting for Nazo?" Sonic said, trying to make peace.

Shadow snorted and broke into a run out of the base. Kumori stared sadly at her love before hesitantly following him out the door with Amy following behind. Sonic stopped for a moment to retrieve the two chaos emeralds before following.

"Hey, wait for us!" Storm screamed.

Storm quickly grabbed Omega by his arm and dragged the massive robot away from the computer, which was a really stupid idea on his part. The cords that connected Omega to the computer were ripped, creating a small explosion that engulfed them. When the smoke had cleared, Storm and Omega somehow found there heads on each others shoulders.

"On second thought, we'll just wait here." Omega said.

* * *

The scene changes to the ruined remains of the north section of Station Square. Honestly, does that city ever stay safe? Nazo hovered around the air with a bored expression on his face. He sighed as he held out his palm and shot a green blast at the building near Team Virtex's home. Why are they never around when you need them?

"Destroying cities has lost it amusement." Nazo stated. "I guess that's because this city is attack so much. Maybe we should consider looking for a new battle ground."

"While you do that, we'll be kicking your tail!"

Nazo turned sharply, only to find a blue blur scrape across his face. Sonic uncurled from his ball form as he landed next to his teammates; Kumori was still angry. Nazo traced a finger across the scrape, which disappeared at the touch.

"Well, I was wonder what was taking you so long." Nazo smirked.

"You wouldn't believe the traffic on the way here." Sonic joked.

"And I see you have brought the Chaos Emeralds." Nazo said pleasurably, feeling the presense of his creations. "Do you plan on using you little fusion technique on me?"

"We can't use the technique just yet." Shadow whispered to Sonic. "If worse come to worse, we'll use the Chaos Fusion as a last resort."

"We could always use the Fusion Dance." Amy suggested.

"It doesn't exist!" Shadow snapped.

"Just saying." Amy muttered.

"Hey, don't blame her!" Sonic growled; Amy smiled happily. "She was only making a suggestion

"If you're quiet done," Nazo cut in. "I would like to end this battle before next year."

"Bring it on!" Kumori challenged.

The female prototype was the first the step into battle, despite the various warnings from Shadow. Kumori leapt off the balls of her feet towards the evil hedgehog. Nazo smirked and held out his palm and gathered energy around it to summon a familiar large yellow arrow.

"CHAOS LANCE!" Nazo roared.

The arrow shot from his palm and aimed for the area between Kumori's eyes. But the female wasn't that easy to deal with a he had thought. Much to the surprise of others, including Shadow, Kumori twirled around in midair to avoid the attack. If you can all remember, Chaos Lance is connected to its summoner until the attack hits something. Kumori grabbed the thin trail, burning a hole in her glove, and pushed herself onto the thin space of energy. She ran up the line and, to Nazo's shock, swiped a kick across the evil hedgehog's face. The Chaos Lance finally faded when it blew a hole in the ground.

"Hah!" Kumori cheered. But she stopped when the bruise she made was gone and Nazo stared at her with a malevolent expression. "Uh oh!"

Nazo quickly grasps her legs and swings her to the nearest building, which happened to be a post office. As the dark hedgehog landed, he found Kumori hunched over the desk covered in postage stamps.

"Hey, at least you can save money on airfare." Nazo chuckled.

"That was so not funny." Amy said.

Nazo turned his head to the pink hedgehog. Amy had already summoned her signature Piko-Piko Hammer into her hand and zipped up to her target with her own speed. Nazo pulled back his head nonchalantly as Amy swung her hammer around at him. Amy landed and swung around for a second attempt. But Nazo was clearly the superior hedgehog as he stopped the hammer dead with just his forearm. She tried to pull back, but the evil hedgehog grasped the end of the hammer. In one swing, Nazo hurled Amy over into the post office with Kumori.

"Nice of you to drop in." Kumori said.

"Shut up." Amy said under the stack of letters.

"Now to rid myself of these annoyances." Nazo said, forming a deadly blast in his palm.

"Stay away from her!" Sonic roared. He held out his hand and formed a sphere of blue chaos energy to perform his signature technique. "SONIC WIND!"

Sonic rushed and slammed the massive wind sphere into Nazo's chest. The hedgehog gasped in shock; his lethal attack faded, and was thrown into the building across the street, which happened to be a beauty salon. Sonic was barely able to stand on his feet. He was laugh so hard when Nazo came out where tons of make-up and a blond wig.

"Nice look for you!" Sonic laughed harder. "Definately an improvement!

The make-up and wig quickly burned away as Nazo's anger flared to new heights. He moved faster than the wind and appeared right behind our favorite blue hero. He threw a punch at Sonic's backside, but the true blue hedgehog back flipped over Nazo's head. In his moment of distraction, Shadow zoomed up and nailed his fist to the side of Nazo's face. It took a mere second to recover from the attack, but he did not anticipate for Shadow to swing around and slam his foot into his chin. Nazo was sent flying into the air, which was more then the opportunity they needed.

Sonic, time to strike!" Shadow called.

"What?" Sonic questioned.

"Nazo's skills are worse when he's airborne." Shadow explained. "Take him out while you have a chance."

"You're going to pay for that!" Nazo yelled angrily, recovering from the assault.

Nazo held out both of his palms and summoned two large yellow arrows into his hands, performing a double Chaos Lance. Shadow was mystified at how someone could even obtain such a level, but he didn't stare too long. Shadow swiftly back flipped into the air to dodge the first attack. But when he thought about it, he soon found himself helpless to avoid the second oncoming attack. The second Chaos Lance was moving in fast and there was no way he could dodge in midair like Kumori. There was only one way. Shadow quickly released one of his power rings and clutched it into his hand.

"CHAOS CONTROL!" Shadow called.

In a flash of light, Shadow vanished seconds before the Chaos Lance had hit. Nazo growled as he searched the area for the black rat called Shadow. But all he could find was Kumori and Amy, still trying to free themselves from the shuffle in the post office. But while he searched, something else came to mind. Where was Sonic? He did a double take and realized Sonic was nowhere to be found. Knowing that Sonic was the reincarnation that his once-believed dead brother, Nazo wasn't going to forget about him any time soon.

"Now where did that filthy blue rat get off to?" Nazo growled.

"Looking for someone!"

Nazo's head shot up, where he found Sonic's foot crashing between his eyes. While the evil hedgehog cried out in pain, Sonic twisted around in midair and rammed his heel into Nazo stomach. Nazo was hunched over, blood starting to crawl out from his lip. Nazo tried to swung his fist around at him, Sonic fell back and rebounded off a near by street lamp. Sonic smirked with confidence as he curled into his ball form and shot at his enemy. Taking a page out of his father's book, Sonic uncurled as he neared Nazo and slammed his foot at the top of the hedgehog's head. Nazo fell to the ground in a heap while Sonic landed gracefully.

"Man, you're getting slow, bro." Sonic grinned. "And I'm not filthy. I just took a bath three months ago."

"EEW!" The females squealed

"This isn't over yet." Nazo sneered.

"Actually, I think it is."

Nazo turned back, soon to be grasped around the throat by Shadow, who's fur was flashing bright red. Shadow's emitted a spine chilling laugh that resembled Black Doom's as the immense power began to take over his mind.

"Welcome to my hell." Shadow said evilly. "CHAOS BLAST!!"

Shadow's body erupted into a blast of nuclear proportions, taking Nazo along with it. Sonic acted fast; he grabbed Kumori and Amy around their waists and carried them safely from Shadow's attack. The Chaos Blast was more powerful than usual, taking ten square blocks in its wake. When the attack was finished, the red aura started to fade away. Sonic set the girls safely on the ground and stared back at the destruction left behind.

"You think he's all right?" Amy asked with concern.

"He's fine." Sonic grinned confidently. "After all, he is Shadow."

"But where...?"

"CHAOS WIND!"

A sudden tornado of white energy emerged from the ruins, striking down everything in it's path. Unfortunately, Amy just happened to be in its path. Sonic noticed this and jumped in front to take the hit. The tornado knocked our blue hero back five feet, barely keeping him conscious. Unfortunately, the tornado didn't just knock him out. The tornado lifted the two Chaos Emeralds out from the quills and tossed them back into the ruins.

"Sonic!" Amy cried.

All of a sudden, a black mass landed on top of the hedgehog. It didn't take long to figure out what it was.

"Shadow!" Kumori screamed.

"They actually thought they stood a chance." Both females looked back and saw Nazo slowly emerged from the ruins, perfectly unharmed. He was grinning wickedly as he held both emeralds he stole from Sonic in his hands. "Unlike them, my power is limitless. I am the true ultimate life-form."

"Amy, get away." Sonic warned weakly. "Get out while you still can."

"Not without you." Amy sobbed.

"There's no time to be stubborn." Shadow said tired. "No matter what we do, Nazo is always one step ahead of us." He groaned as he pushed himself off of Sonic and sat up. "And even if we had the emeralds, I doubt we could even beat his with Chaos Fusion."

"Fusion?" Kumori muttered. Then, without warning, she yelled; the hedgehogs nearly jumped out of their fur. "That's it! I know how we can beat him!"

"We're right here, you know." Sonic said annoyed while rubbing his ears.

"How do we fight back?" Amy asked hopefully.

"With the Fusion Dance." Kumori stated. Her face suddenly faltered when she looked at her love. "That is, if we can do it."

"Normally, I would advise against such ridiculous things." Shadow said. "But at the moment, I'm willing to try anything."

"You really think we can do it?" Kumori asked surprised.

"Kumori, i've long since learn to trust your judgment." Shadow said proudly. "If you think it will work, then I believe you."

"You heard him!" Amy cheered. "Let's get out and kick some tail!"

Kumori nodded in agreement and gave Shadow a quick kiss on the cheek; Shadow turned away to hide the red on his cheeks. The females stepped up in front of the loved ones and scooted away from each other at a certain distance. As Amy and Kumori stretched their arms opposite of each other, Nazo started to chuckle lowly.

"This is the last challenge you have to present to me?" Nazo said mocking. "A couple of cheerleaders?"

"Never underestimate the power of woman." Amy said, somewhat excitedly.

"Cause you never know when it's going to bite you in the butt." Kumori said confidently.

"If you two think you can beat me," Nazo said uncaring. "Then give it your best shot."

Amy looked for confidence in Kumori and it with given in the form of a smile. With reassurance, Amy resumed her stance. Slowly, they started to make their way towards each other, bring their hands together. They shot a quick pose in opposite direction before bring their hands together again; only their index fingers were touching.

"FU-SION-HA!" Amy and Kumori chanted simultaneously.

Suddenly, a flash appeared from the points were their fingers touched. The light was a spectacle beauty to Sonic and Shadow, but it was a terror to Nazo. The evil hedgehog was blinded by the strange light; his heart was too dark to be allowed to witness such a thing. As the light died down, Nazo's vision began to return. But before he could even blink his eye, he found a gloved fist smashed into the side of his face. The force of the attack sent Nazo tumbling nearly fifty yards back.

"What the hell?" Nazo cursed in anger. He quickly healed his open wound and used Chaos control to teleport back to his previous spot. "Who do you think you are trying to...?"

But Nazo's voice quickly left him; Sonic and Shadow could understand the feeling. Instead of two hedgehogs, they found one female hedgehog with a whole new look. She looked similar to Amy and Kumori, but with red fur. She had head quills with black stripes and three bangs jutting from her forehead. She wore a white sleeveless shirt, a black vest with pink linen around the sleeves, white silk pants with a pink sash around the waist, and a pair of dark shoes. She also had white gloves with Kumori's signature silver ring bracelets. While Sonic and Shadow appeared stunned, Nazo seemed angered.

"Another fusion!" Nazo spat. "Talk, woman! Tell me your name so I can kill you!"

"I don't know." The hedgehog said confused; Sonic and Shadow facefaulted. "This only the second time I've actually used this form." She scratched her head in a thinking position until she snapped her fingers. "I know! Just call me Kurami!"

* * *

**The fusion lives and a new hero is born! Is Kurami's power enough to take on the God of Darkness? Or will Nazo have the last laugh along with the emeralds? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	48. Fusion Frenzy, Part 2

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

DBZ © Toei

Chapter Forty-Eight: Fusion Frenzy, Part 2

Nazo was beyond irritated; he was furious. He thought he would have an easy victory after easily defeating Sonic and Shadow, the clearly strongest of the group. But just when he thought it was over, Amy and Kumori pulled out a new trick. Somehow, without the powers of the Chaos Emeralds, The females had fused together to become Kurami. As of now, the fused female hedgehog grinned deviously while Nazo clutched the green and purple emeralds in frustration.

"Another fusion!" Nazo spat. "Talk, woman! Tell me your name so I can kill you!"

"I don't know." The hedgehog said confused; Sonic and Shadow facefaulted. "This only the second time I've actually used this form." She scratched her head in a thinking position until she snapped her fingers. "I know! Just call me Kurami!"

"Kurami, huh?" Nazo said; his expression changed to one of delight. "You can pull whatever trick you like, woman. But in the end, it will be I who will walk away from this fight."

"Never underestimate the power of a woman!" Kurami exclaimed.

"Do ya think she can win this fight?" Sonic asked Shadow.

"I don't know." Shadow replied feebly. "But she's the only hope we've got."

Nazo waved his hand to her as a challenge, one which Kurami could never pass up. The fused female kicked off the ground and suddenly vanished in plain sight. Nazo was caught off guard by this and was unprepared when Kurami's knee nailed him in the side of the head. Nazo staggered backwards for a moment before holding his open palm to Kurami. He had planned to summon a Chaos Lance, but was interrupted when elbowed him in the stomach. The impact forced the evil hedgehog to cough up a small trail of blood from his mouth.

"Aw, you tired?" Kurami asked mockingly. Nazo threw a punch at her, but she back flipped away. "Don't you know it's not nice to hit girls?"

"Will be courteous when I see one." Nazo chuckled.

"Oh no, he didn't." Sonic said.

"I think he did." Shadow grinned.

"Oh, you're in for it now, sucker!" Kurami roared.

Kurami zoomed behind Nazo; her speed was double of what her usual forms were. She swung around and slammed her forearm to the side of Nazo's neck, sending him tumbling to the side. during a mid-bounce, Kurami appeared besides Nazo and ran her foot to his back. The evil hedgehog tried to regain control while in midair, but Kumori's speed clearly outstripped him in his current form. She reappeared in front of Nazo in midair and started pounding away at him left and right. While down on the ground, Sonic was cheering for the fused hedgehog. But for some reason, Shadow was the only one who didn't seem happy.

"_This is unusual for Nazo._" Shadow thought. "_I don't understand why he's not putting up a fight._"

It was true. Nazo had the power he needed, but he barely lifted a finger against Kurami. Kurami brought her hands together and slammed her fist over the top of the evil hedgehogs head. But instead of slamming into the ground, Nazo flipped in mid-fall and landed gracefully on his feet. As Kurami landed, all of Nazo's wound vanished from sight.

"Give up yet?" Kurami said confidently. "Face it, there is no way you can beat me."

"I wasn't trying to defeat you." Nazo stated. "I was merely buying my time."

"By your time?" Kurami repeated confused. "For what?"

"If you had taken notice, five minutes have nearly passed." Nazo explained. "in a matter of moments, the fusion will wear off and I will kill you on the spot." Nazo holds out his palm and begins to summon another Chaos Lance. "Your time will be up in...5...4...3...2...1!"

At one, Nazo thrusts his hand forward and released the massive energy arrow. The form of chaos energy exploded on contact, forming a cloud of dust in its wake. Sonic gasped horridly while Shadow growled with seething anger. Nazo smiled in the most malicious manner.

"As could be expected from a feeble pair of rats." Nazo said.

"Who are you calling a rat?"

Nazo twirled around on his heel and stared in shock. Kurami was crouching next to him, perfectly unharmed. Before he had time to process this information, Nazo felt a fist smash into his chest. The evil hedgehog was thrown back half a mile and groaned loudly as he tried to force himself back to his feet.

"But...how?" Nazo asked weakly. "How can you still be in that form? Five minutes have passed since you used the fusion technique."

"If forgot to mention that this form of fusion is stronger than Chaos Fusion." Kurami smirked. "Unlike Chaos Fusion, the Fusion Dance not only prevents the users from being hurt, but the fusion lasts for thirty minutes."

"Thirty minute!" Nazo exclaimed. "That's impossible!"

"Whoa, Nazo's ticked." Sonic chuckled. "And worst of all, he's being beat by a girl."

"You're one to talk." Shadow smirk. "You get your tail handed to you by Amy nearly everyday."

""What about you and Kumori!" Sonic retorted.

"Fair point." Shadow admitted.

"You ready to give up?" Kurami said confidently. "It's obvious that you can't beat me."

"I would never think of surrendering to the likes of you!" Nazo screamed hysterically. The two emeralds Nazo had stolen from the heroes floated overhead, quickly joined by its four brothers Nazo obtained. "Did you forget who you are up against?! I am Nazo, the God of Darkness!"

The Chaos Emeralds circled around him, transferring their power back to their creator. In a flash of tremendous red light, Nazo's body was transformed from its regular state. His fur turned red, the iris of his eyes turned yellow, two more quills were added to his head, his shoes became gold and black boots, and the spines turned to an 'x' shape. Nazo had once again resorted to his Hell Form. Sonic, Shadow, and Kurami remembered that as long as Nazo had the emeralds, he could not feel the pain from using this form.

"This can't be good." Kurami muttered.

"Get ready to die!" Hell Nazo roared.

Nazo kicked up off the ground, forming a crater where he once stood. Before she realized it, Nazo was standing in front of Kurami with his fist reeled back. Acting fast, Kurami curved backwards to avoid the raging fist which surely would have knocked her head off. Kurami planted her hands to the ground and shot her foot upwards at Nazo's chin. But the red demon barely flinched. Kurami, on the other hand, fell down and grasped her foot, which was in pain.

"Geez, what's he made of?" Kurami hissed.

"You didn't really expect such a feeble attempt to stop me." Nazo grinned, crossing his arms. "I'm feeling a bit generous. Why don't I let you have a shot to prove how weak you truly are?"

"You're going to regret that." Kurami said.

Kurami flipped back to her feet and twirl around to kick Nazo's head with her heel. But, again, the red God of Darkness didn't even flinch. Realizing her old tactic wasn't working, she flipped back a few feet away. She swiftly curled into a ball form similar to Amy's and started to spin in place. Nazo's raised his brow with intrigue as Kurami suddenly released from her position and nailed Nazo in the face. The red ball dived away and uncurled back to her regular form. Nazo was sporting a nastily black and blue bruise on his face. But in a matter of seconds, it disappeared as if it was never there.

"This is getting boring." Nazo said monotone. "If you have any tricks left, perhaps this would be the best time to reveal them."

"I do have one more move left." Kurami mumbled to herself. "But I'm not sure if it will work for a second time."

"Are you quite through." Nazo interrupted. "I'm kinda in hurry, so let's get to the killing.

"Whatever you say." Kurami said hesitantly. "Here goes nothing."

Kurami held up her hands toward Nazo's direction and formed them into the shape of a circle. Kurami started muttering nonstop under her breath while watching Nazo through the hole in the hands. Suddenly, the hole in Kurami's hands was being filled with a large amount of red chaos energy. Nazo was surprised by the sudden show of power and put his hands up to defend himself. Kurami's hands were filled with so must energy that sparks were flying and destroying whatever they touch. Sonic barely missed two random sparks. But after taming the force of the blast, Kurami was ready.

"Let's see how you like this one!" Kurami shouted confidently. "CHAOS WAVE!"

To everyone's surprise, even Kurami's; a sudden red blast erupted from the fused hedgehog's hands. The blast had the same force as Shadow's Chaos Blast, only with more form and direction. Nazo held up both of his palms as a shield, unsure if even his Hell Form would be enough for it. when both forces came in contact, the area exploded in a ray of red light. As the light died down, a cloud of smoke remained where Nazo stood.

"Yeah, that was tight!" Sonic cheered.

"I can't believe I just did that." Kurami said, half proud, half disbelief.

Kurami waved to the two male hedgehogs with a proud sign of victory. Sonic was ready to run over to her side when Shadow suddenly stopped him. Suddenly a blur emerged from the cloud of smoke and dived behind Kurami.

"Kurami, watch out!" Shadow warned.

But it was too late. By the time she turned and found Nazo, not a single scratch on him, her right arm was completely severed from her body. Sonic and Shadow stared in horror as Kurami was clutching her bleeding stump of an arm. Nazo laughed cruelly as he grabbed Kurami's severed arm and lifted over his head like a trophy.

"You truly believed that you could beat me." Nazo said malevolently. "Now you know the price for attempting to defeat me." He threw Kurami's arm at her. "A fitting end for such a fool."

We've got to help." Sonic said as Nazo moved in towards Kurami.

"With what?" Shadow questioned. "In case you haven't noticed, none of our attacks work on him. And since he has all the Chaos Emeralds, we can't fuse together to become Shadic."

"Or can we?" Sonic said with a mischievous smirk.

Shadow exchanged looks with Sonic, who, judging from his expression; seemed to have caught on with Sonic's plan. Back with Nazo and Kurami. The God of Darkness kicked the poor red hedgehog across the face and skidded down the destroyed street. Kurami tried to get up to her hand and knees, but Nazo kicked her in the stomach, forcing her to the ground again.

"Are you ready to submit?" Nazo asked pleasurably.

N-never." Kurami spat furiously.

"Too bad." Nazo grinned. "And here I was hoping you would consider joining my army."

"I would rather die than join you!" Kurami yelled.

"That can be arranged." Nazo said. "CHAOS BLADE!"

On command, a thin red blade of chaos energy surrounded Nazo's hand. He held the blade to Kurami's neck, searching for a proper place to cut, before reeling his hand back. But just as he started to swing, a pair of voices called out that caused him to stop.

"FU-SION-HA!"

Nazo, his Chaos Blade vanished, spun around towards the direction of Sonic and Shadow. Both hedgehog had, surprisingly flawless, performed the same dance Amy and Kumori did. No one will ever let Shadow live that down. The point where their fingers touch emitted a flash of light brighter than Kurami's Nazo was blinded once more, but quickly regained his senses to witness the birth of his newest enemy. Shadic was back and made a dramatic change. His fur was dark blue with five quills pointed up similar to Super Sonic. he had red highlights on his quills and had Shadow's white chest fur. He wore a black vest with blue linen on the shoulders, white gloves with Shadow's power rings, white silk pants, a blue sash around the waist, and a pair of dark boots.

"It's not possible!" Nazo exclaimed in fear.

"Oh, but it is." Shadic smirked. "Shadic's back and he's better than ever."

"We'll see about that!" Nazo roared with anger. "You may have your fused form, but I am still the most powerful! You will bow to me!"

"Yeah, like that's going to happen." Shadic smirked.

Nazo held out his palms to summon another Chaos Lance, but by that time, Shadic was gone. Nazo search frantically around for the hedgehog with no luck of finding him. Shadic could not be seen until he jabbed his elbow into Nazo's neck. The God of Darkness was sent flying through three ruined buildings until he tumbled across the street. Nazo stumbled back to his feet and held out his hand just in time to stop Shadic's kick.

"Not bad." Shadic complimented; he back flipped away from Nazo. "For a minute there, I thought this was going to be boring."

"I am an enemy not to be underestimated." Nazo said confidently. "Especially when I know all the secrets of the Chaos Emeralds."

"All right, give it your best shot." Shadic tempted.

"Very well." Nazo said. he drew his arms together and began to gather a tremendous amount of red chaos energy around his body. From the years you've known Shadow, this attack shouldn't come as a surprise. "CHAOS BLAST!!"

The red energy exploded from Nazo's body, creating a blast of nuclear proportions. Shadic brought his arms up as the blast suddenly engulfed him and everything within a five mile radius. Seriously, that city just doesn't ever get a break. Slowly, the blast died down with Nazo standing in the center of a large crater he formed. Normally, any villain would be proud of what they had accomplished. But Nazo only seemed even more frustrated.

"I am getting tired of this nonsense." Nazo said.

As the cloud of dust started to blow away, Shadic could be seen covering Kurami with his body. The fur on his back had been singed, but other then that, Shadic looked unharmed. He lifted himself off of Kurami, who was also safe from the blast.

"You ok?" Shadic asked.

"I'll be fine." Kurami informed.

"You've wasted enough of my time, Shadic." Nazo said. "It's time we put an end to this frivolous battle."

"Fine by me." Shadic said; he ripped off the remains of his vest. "I've had a killer technique that I've been dying to try."

"How ironic." Nazo smirked. "Because you will be dying soon enough."

Nazo and Shadic were caught in the traditional stare down; a tumbleweed passed by, followed by a heard of cows, and a flock of dodo birds. (I have no idea where I come up with this stuff). All was quite; not a single sound could be heard in the distance. Suddenly, a pebble fell and the final clash began. Nazo and Shadic shot up off the ground with both their fists reeled back. They were within five feet from each other when they threw both punches together. The blow landed with a deafening thud. Shadic's fist embedded itself in Nazo's chest, but the dark hedgehog missed Shadic by an inch. With an extra bit of strength, Shadic forced Nazo back fifty yards before screeching to a halt at the end of the crumbled street.

"This can't be." Nazo gasped. "How can I lose to him? I am Nazo, the God of Darkness."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Shadic waved nonchalantly. "Lets face it, you can't beat."

"Everyone has a weakness." Nazo stated. As he looked around, and idea hit him and he quickly smiled in a sinister way. "And I think I just found it."

"What are you talking about?" Shadic asked hesitantly.

"If you truly are a combination of Sonic and Shadow, then you share the same weakness: compassion." Nazo explained. "You care too much for the life of others. Especially those girls."

"You wouldn't!" Shadic exclaimed.

"Just watch me!" Nazo roared victoriously.

Nazo swiftly drew out his hand and began to summon an orb of red chaos into him open palm. Kurami was still weak and quickly realized that she was in danger. But because of her arms and low energy, she had nowhere to go. Angered by the fact that was trying to kill Kurami, Shadic jumped blindly ahead at Nazo. It was a lucky break, too. Before he even had a chance to fire, Shadic planted his kneecap into Nazo stomach. Caught off guard, Nazo unintentionally dismissed the attack and clutch his stomach in pain. Taking the opportunity, Shadic flipped backwards, kicking Nazo in the chin. As Nazo staggered back, Shadic gracefully landed with his back to his opponent.

Nazo, you dare to try an kill Kurami." Shadic growled "Now you'll have to pay the consequences."

"Just give your best shot." Nazo challenged.

Shadic raised his hand to the sky for some apparent reason. Suddenly, waves of chaos began to emerge from the area around them and gathering into his open palm. The chaos energy began shaping together into a multicolored ball of light the size of a baseball. In one tense moment, Shadic clutched the orb in his while turning towards Nazo.

"CHAOS BREAKER!" Shadic yelled.

Shadic released the orb and hurled it towards Nazo. The God of Darkness swiftly raised his arms to defend himself. To his surprise, the small orb faded away inside his left arm. He hesitated momentarily to see if there were any side effects to the attack. But after three minutes had gone by, nothing had happened.

"Is this some kind of a joke?" Nazo laughed. "Your attack was wasted."

"You sound confident." Shadic grinned. "If you think you can, let's end this."

"It will be my utmost pleasure." Nazo cackled wickedly.

Nazo kicked off the ground and aimed reeled back his fist for the final blow. But Shadic waved it off by hold out his open hand and closing it shut. All of a sudden, a bright blinding flash exploded from inside Nazo; specifically, his left arm. When everyone could see again, they found that Nazo left arm was blown off along with fragments of his chest and face, which held a terrified expression. Realizing he couldn't win in the situation, Nazo vanished in a cloud of darkness.

"That was awesome." Kurami said, running over to Shadic's side. "You were Amazing, Shadic."

"That attack was supposed to kill him." Shadic stated seriously. "He deserves it after what he did to you."

"Oh, you mean my arm?" Kurami asked. "It's nothing to worry about. Watch this."

Kurami closed her eye and strained to push as much energy she had into he severed arm. All of a sudden, to Shadic's shock, Kurami's arm completely grew back as if it was never cut in the first place.

"Healing powers." Shadic said approvingly. "That's great, but we still lost the Chaos Emeralds."

"Not exactly." Kurami grinned deviously. "While he wasn't looking, I managed to snag these away."

Kurami reached behind her back and pulled out the purple and green emeralds Nazo stole, plus the red emerald that belong to the God of Darkness himself.

"Kurami, you are simply amazing." Shadic said.

"Thanks." Kurami smiled. "I think we should get back to the base before we get into anymore trouble."

"What could possibly cause us trouble now?" Shadic questioned.

"Hey, mates, our house blew up!" Marine screamed.

"But that had all our stuff in it." Raine said.

"Not to mention our money." Howl added.

"SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!!" Recter roared.

"And now we know." Shadic said fearfully.

Even as Shadic, neither Sonic nor Shadow were stupid enough to go against Recter Rose. Speaking of whom, the red hedgehog bulldozed his way through the rubble that was once his room and charged at Shadic. Even though he had no idea Shadic was half of Sonic, he just needed a reason to hit someone. Kurami stood back as Rector chased Shadic towards the setting sun.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Dark Rulers castle. Shira was walking down the corridor with a light-blue square cut emerald: The light-blue Sol Emerald. Mephiles and Nack had returned from a mission in Mongolia and had successfully obtained the emerald. They had given the emerald to Shira to present to Nazo so they could rest. Shira opened the door to the throne chamber and entered.

"Lord Nazo." Shira bowed respectfully. "Mephiles and Nack are back. They brought a..."

Shira trailed off and accidentally dropped the Sol Emerald when she found Nazo in throne. He was worse off than he looked before he returned; his eyes were ghostly white and hole on his side was bleed prosperously. Shira hesitated for a moment before she dash over to her master's side. Nazo turned his head, only just now recognizing Shira's presence.

"Shira, bring me Mephiles." Nazo said weakly. "I need him to regenerate my energy so that I can heal myself."

"At once, my lord." Shira said before running out of the room.

"Shadic is strong, much stronger than ever." Nazo mumbled to himself. "At that Kurami, I have no doubt that she has healing abilities natural to here skills." Nazo raised his remaining arm and slammed it onto the side of his throne, venting out his frustrations. "If I have any hopes of ever defeating them, I need all seven Chaos Emeralds. Once I do, they will witness the power of the true Nazo."

* * *

**Witness the heroes newest weapons: Shadic and Kurami! WIll Nazo truely obtain all seven Chaos Emeralds and unlock his full Power? Will Team Virtex ever get their home back? Will Shadic survive Rector's wrath. Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please read and review.**

****

I am placing a poll for the next chapter. Your choices are below.

A) Sonic's fear  
B) Rai and Eggman  
C) Fire Returns

Now it's up to you to decide. Which will it be?


	49. Blaze of Glory

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Note: In an unexpected twist, the poll ended in a three way tie. So i have taken the liberty of being the tie breaker. The winning chapter is: Fire Returns. Enjoy.

Tomo © Kiba Sniper

Chapter Forty-Nine: Blaze of Glory

The scene opens up to the beautiful oasis of Emerald Beach. Team Virtex had decided to spend the day upon Marine's suggestion. They didn't have anything better to do since Sonic and Shadow were repairing their house. A word of advice, never piss off Rector Rose, especially when you burn his money. Early that morning, Silver had joined them. It was around noon and most of Team Virtex was done for the day. But Rector, Howl, and Raine could only watch as Marine and Silver sat on the sand and stared out into the open ocean.

"How long have they been like that?" Howl asked.

"They've been out there since this morning." Raine replied. "What do you think is wrong with them?"

"It was one month ago that I found Marine out on this very beach." Rector said. "Maybe something happened here."

Rector had no idea how close his answer was. As Marine and Silver stared out into the ocean, only one person kept popping into their minds: Blaze the Cat. They had both suffered a terrible loss that day a month ago. Silver and Blaze, both in super forms, fought against the time rogue, Future Mecha Shadow in Blaze's dimension. After the battle, Silver and Marine were sent back to this dimension, while Blaze was thrown back into hers. That day, Silver lost the love of his life and Marine lost her best friend.

"How do you think she's doing, mate?" Marine asked sadly.

"Who know?" Silver said monotone. "I feel so helpless. It seems that no matter how close we are, we can't get all the Chaos Emeralds. Maybe we're not destined to see Blaze again."

"I don't believe that, mate." Marine stated. The raccoon reached down her shirt and pulled out the blue Sol Emerald she wore as a necklace. "The emerald found its way here. Maybe Blaze can, too."

"The Sol Emerald has the unlimited powers of space." Silver mentioned. "But still, what is the emerald doing here if it's supposed to be guarded by Blaze?"

"Who knows, Mate?" Marine said. "Who knows?"

* * *

The scene alters to the dreary dimension of the Dark Ruler's castle. The castle that was normally quiet was now pierced by roars of earsplitting screams. Black Doom floated outside of Nazo's room where he saw Nazo and Mephiles through the doorway. Nazo had healed his chest and face and was now rebuilding his shoulder while Mephiles provided the energy. Nazo felt a sharp pain in his shoulder and ran his fist through Mephiles' head.

"Glad I'm not him." Black Doom looked to his left and found Tomo the Chameleon. "What are you up to?"

"I could ask you the same." Black Doom replied coldly.

"I came to tell Lord Nazo about another Sol Emerald." Tomo said calmly. "After losing his arm and three of the Chaos Emeralds, he could do with a bit of good news. But with all things considered, I think I'll wait."

"A Sol Emerald, you say." Black Doom chuckled. "Come, Chameleon. Let's have a little talk."

Of all the Dark Ruler's, Black Doom was the least trusted by the other members. They didn't have a reason, but it felt natural to be cautious around him. After a moment, Tomo followed the alien overlord into the gathering chamber of the castle. The board which Nazo used to keep track of the battle was already out. Like all the members, Tomo knew the figurines that represented everyone moved on their own; Tikal's was recently added. Like in a game of chess, Tomo noticed that Black Doom's figurine was farther from the rest of the Rulers.

"So, tell me." Black Doom said, hiding the board behind his body. "Where is this Sol Emerald?"

"Why should I tell you?" Tomo questioned suspiciously.

"Lord Nazo is too weak to obtain it himself." Black Doom said logically. "Erazor is currently dealing with a situation is the Arabian Nights, Mephiles is healing Nazo, Shira is too weak, and Nack is useless."

"Fine, I get it." Tomo sighed. "The emerald is with Team Virtex at Emerald Beach."

"Then I shall take the liberty of retrieving it." Black Doom said.

"I have to warn you." Tomo smirked. "Silver is with them."

"Not a problem." Black Doom said. "I have the perfect body for this situation."

* * *

The scene returns to Emerald Beach. Silver and Marine had finally picked themselves up after two hours of self pity and had rejoined Team Virtex. Howl was calmly meditating, Raine was experimenting on her medicine, and Recter just fell asleep. Marine thought it would be fun to poke him awake. But the minute she poked him with a stick, Rector grasped it and snapped it in half.

"I get really cranky when I don't get my sleep." Rector mumbled.

"It's true." Raine said. "I had to heal Howl for two days after he woke up Rector."

"Well, we're done here." Silver said sorrowfully. "I should be heading back to the base."

"And we better get back to make sure Sonic and Shadow have finished rebuilding our home." Rector growled.

"But before you do, mind handing over that Sol Emerald."

The four heroes turned shot around behind them, just seconds to avoid being shot by a blinding purple beam. They quickly jump to their feet and found Black Doom floating above the sand with a horde of Black Arm warriors surrounding him. Each of the warriors held a long purple blade in hand as they stepped side for their master.

"Black Doom." Silver sneered. "Figures you would show your ugly, three-eyed mug to ruin this."

"Best watch that temper of yours." Black Doom chuckled.

"What do you want?" Howl asked, looking cautiously between the alien hordes.

"I do hate repeating myself." Black Doom sighed. "Hand over the Sol Emerald and we'll be on our way."

"No!" Marine exclaimed, clasping the blue emerald in her hand. "It's mine, so get your own, mate!"

"If you refuse to hand it over, we'll just have to take it by force." Black Doom stated. "Black Arms, attack!"

"Bring it!" Rector grinned.

With a wave of his ashen hand, Black Doom sent out his mass of Black Arm warriors. Rector, being the most eager for a challenge, was of course the first one to jump in. He flipped over one of the warriors, grasped it by its shoulders and threw it towards another. The red hedgehog jabbed one warrior in the face while backfisting another warrior behind him. Howl was dodging left and right between three warrior's swords. The trio of aliens lifted their swords again, but by the time they reached up, it was too late. Howl grabbed his sword, holding it backwards, and swung around at blinding speed. As he sheathed his sword, the top halves of the aliens fell over. Over with Raine, the white butterfly was weaving in and out between the mass of Black Arms. Along the way, she was secretly pouring red powder at their feet. Once she was out of the hive, she tossed a lighter at the powder. A second later, the powder blew up with the Black Arms along with it.

"Strewth! That was awesome!" Marine cheered. She started throwing her fist around like she was fight. "Yeah, give him a left! And another left! No, you're other left!"

"Once I'm finished with you, there will be nothing left."

"Crikey!" Marine screamed as Black Doom floated behind her. "You're more ugly up close."

"I've had enough of your insolence." Black Doom growled. He held out his black hand to her. "Surrender the Sol Emerald and I might be persuaded to let you live."

"You just have one problem." Silver jumped between Marine and the alien overlord. "You'll have to get past me."

"I was hoping you would say that." Black Doom said sinisterly. "For just the occasion, I've picked just the body to handle this."

Silver ignored the last comment and jumped straight at Black Doom. He gathered a large amount of psychic energy around his fist and sent it crashing into the alien overlord's face. From the stories Shadow had told him, the real Black Doom was a one-eyed alien octopus and the body he had crushed was a fake. But, hey, Silver felt better. Unexpectedly, a fist shot out of the puppets chest and slammed into Silver's face, landing next to Marine.

"You ok, mate?" Marine asked.

"I'm fine." Silver groaned. "Wonder what that freak show has this time."

Silver pulled himself up to his feet as Rector and the rest of the team joined at his side. They watched as the rest of Black Doom's shell broke away to reveal his newest body. Surprisingly enough, it took the shape of a human, which, as everyone knew, was Black Doom's most hated species. He looked like a middle-aged with black hair and red highlights wearing Black Doom's original brown robe. But the creepiest part was that the human Black Doom had three gleaming red eyes.

"Now that's the freakiest thing I've ever seen." Raine stated.

"Oh, things will only get worse." Black Doom chuckled. "You have yet to discover the power behind this body."

"You don't look so tough." Rector said amusingly.

The red hedgehog ran forward with his fist tightened at the new Black Doom. But the new overlord merely swatted him away, sending him crashing in the middle of the ocean. Howl grasped the handle of his sword and growled lightly, feeling threatened at Black Doom's presence.

"Any other takers?" Black Doom smirked.

"Silver, take Marine and go." Howl commanded.

"Forget it." Silver refused. "I haven't had my chance in the action."

"That's exactly why we want you to leave." Howl said. "If you heard him, Black Doom said he picked that body out for the reason of fighting you. Obviously it has some kind of power to repel your powers. Just take Marine and leave."

"But I..." Silver muttered.

"Just go!" Howl roared.

But unfortunately, Silver was too stubborn to run away; he must have inherited it from Amy. Realizing he wasn't going anywhere, Howl and Raine jumped in front to block his way to Black Doom. Rector swam back and flopped on the sand, completely drained. Howl pulled out his sword and held it in its usual stance: backwards. He charged forward to the human Black Doom and spun around like a tornado. But when he stopped spinning, Black Doom was gone.

"What the?" Howl asked confused. "Where did he...?"

"Looking for someone?"

Howl looked to his right and was stunned to find that Black Doom was standing weightlessly at the tip of his sword. Howl growled, muttering something about polishing the filth off. In one swift motion, Howl spun around in another circle, puling Black Doom of his sword and striking him. But unfortunately, the overlord somehow blocked the steel weapon with his forearm. Black Doom grasped the blade, ignoring the edge cutting into his hand. He, with unexpected strength, forced the hilt of the blade into Howl chest. The grey wolf gasped momentarily before falling back and passing out.

"Howl!" Raine cried.

"Such a frivolous waste." Black Doom said, throwing the sword near Howl's head. "And I had hoped for a better challenge."

"Why you?!" Raine seethed. "You stay away from him!"

"Or else what?" Black Doom said in a bored manner.

Raine, feeling nothing but anger towards the overlord, charged head forward at him. There was only one problem: she was a weakling. Raine kicked her foot at Black Doom's face, only leaving a red mark from where her shoe it. Black Doom lifted his hand and swatted her away into the ocean like Rector. He held out his hand, preparing to kill the girl once he caught sight of her. But the problem was; he couldn't see her. Raine's ocean blue wings completely camouflaged her in the water. Black Doom looked irritated as he searched up and down the water, finding not even a trace of the bug. All of a sudden, a think cloud of silver powder jumped out of the water and covered Black Doom. Black Doom hunched over as Raine pulled herself out of the water.

"What have you done to me?" Black Doom questioned

"It's a fresh batch of stomach virus I made this morning." Raine said proudly. "It's my own special recipe; it has no cure."

"That would have work, if not for one problem." Black Doom chuckled malevolently. He slowly straightened up, not at all what Raine would have expected. "I am not affected by common diseases as you pathetic life forms."

"But that was my best batch." Raine moaned.

"And it failed." Black Doom said as he held out his hand. "Farewell."

Five small clouds formed around Black Doom's body. Suddenly, five meteors emerged from the clouds and aimed for Raine. Raine looked horrified until Silver jumped out in front of her. He quickly created a barrier of psychic energy that shielded them from the barrage of meteors. When the assault ended, Silver lowered the shield so he could have a clear view of Black Doom.

"So, it has come down to this." Black Doom stated. "Just the two of us in a final clash."

"Don't forget about me." Marine piped.

"I have no time to deal with a little girl." Black Doom waved.

"Little girl?!" Marine screamed. If there was anything that insulted Marine more, it was calling her a little girl. "I am Marine Aqua the Raccoon! I am the greatest adventurer in all of the Sol Kingdom!"

"I think he heard you." Silver said, rubbing his aching ears.

"Just stay out of our way." Black Doom said. "Why don't you just run along and play like a good little girl."

"That was the final straw for Marine. The feisty raccoon roared in anger and started swinging her hands around as she charged at Black Doom. Silver tried to call her back, but Marine was too far lost in her own world. Instead of swatting her away like the rest of her team, Black Doom held his hand out, stopping her in her tracks. Marine continued to struggle, despite the fact that she was running in the same place. Black Doom sighed and merely flicked his finger to her forehead to knock her back.

"Are you quite done yet?" Black Doom questioned. "I have other matters to attend to."

"What's the hurry, Doom?" Silver called.

Black Doom looked over to his side, where he found Silver with a mass of psychic energy around his hand. Silver thrust the hand forward, creating a sphere of psychic energy. Where normal villains would feel threatened by the attack, Black Doom didn't even twitch the slightest. The psychic sphere made contact and exploded around Black Doom. Just when Silver thought he had defeated the alien overlord, the human Black Doom burst from the cloud of sand and slammed his fist into Silver's face. Silver tumbled back slightly and groaned as Marine helped his sit up.

"Is that truly your best shot?" Black Doom chuckled humorlessly. "You put up as much of a fight as that little girl."

"I'm not a little girl!" Marine screamed.

"But how?" Silver asked. "I put a quarter of my energy into that attack. There's no way you should have survived that."

"Haven't you wondered why I had donned the guise of this filthy creature?" Black Doom question. "To explain it all, I had 'acquired' this body from a human called Pein. Apparently, this body has the power to absorb energy, including mental energy."

"So...all along..." Silver stammered.

"You never stood a chance." Black Doom finished. He chuckled cruelly as he walked loser to the grey hedgehog, his palm held open for the finish. "I could say it was a pleasure knowing you, but that would be a lie."

"Hold it, mister!" Marine shouted as she jumped in front of Silver. "Ya want to get to him; you'll have to go through me."

"For a minute there, I thought there was going to be a challenge." Black Doom said.

Despite Marine's best attempts to make herself intimidating, there was no scaring the alien overlord. Black Doom held out his human palm and started gathering a mass of black chaos energy into the shape of an orb. Marine didn't know why, but as Black Doom walked closer, Marine suddenly felt herself unknowingly lifting her hand. She opened her palm and a bright green orb suddenly shot from it. Black Doom was surprised by the attack and didn't react in time to block it. The orb hit the alien overlord in the chest and sent him flying backwards into the sand.

"How did you do that?" Silver asked in awe.

"Dunno, mate." Marine said, examining her hand in wonderment.

"_That must have been the attack Mephiles had warned me about._" Black Doom thought as he pulled himself to his feet. "_But that was no energy attack. This body would have absorbed it if it was. There's something different about her._"

"That looked it hurt, huh?" Silver smirked. "If you know what's good for you, you'll leave now."

"Not a chance." Black Doom said. "Just because it work once, doesn't mean it will happen again."

"Then this'll show ya." Marine grinned, throwing her palm out. Unfortunately, nothing happened. "Uh oh."

Black Doom saw this as a perfect opportunity. He kicked off the ground and dove directly at the fallen duo. Silver tried to conjure a barrier to protect them, but that was before he realized Black Doom would absorb it. Black Doom spun around and slammed his heel into Silver's face while pushing Marine away with his hand. Silver was thrown down the beach, where Raine was healing Rector and Howl. Marine was tossed one way, while her Sol Emerald was thrown another.

"Hey, that's mine!" Marine shouted.

"You seem to think I care." Black Doom said. "With this emerald, I will be one step closer to dethroning 'Lord' Nazo."

Marine tried to race her way to the Sol Emerald, but Black Doom held out his hand to form a barrier between them. With no distractions left, Black Doom reached down to grab the emerald. But in a stunning turn of events, a great ball of fire suddenly fell from the sky and crashed down on the Sol Emerald.

"What is this?!" Black Doom exclaimed.

"As Guardian of the Sol Emeralds, I will not allow you to lay a hand upon them."

The sudden sound of the voice gave Silver the strength to stand up and run towards the spot. He stopped near Marine, who looked close to tears. As the fire began to die down, they saw that the blue Sol Emerald was in the hands of a familiar feline. Her fur was bright pink, her jacket and the tip of her tail become red, the cuffs of her gloves and shoes were engulfed in pink flames, and beautiful flowing hair.

"Blaze!" Silver and Marine cried simultaneously.

"Burning Blaze to be exact." Blaze smiled.

"You think I can be defeated by some parlor trick?!" Black Doom roared.

"No, but I think this should do the job." Blaze grinned.

Blaze reeled back her hand and formed a large fireball in her open palm. In one swift motion, Blaze hurled the ball at the alien overlord. normally, Black Doom would have dodged it easily. But the moment the fire escaped from Blaze's hand, it rapidly started to increase in size. Soon, it was the size of a two story building. Realizing he stood no chance, the real Black Doom burst from the back of the human body as it was engulfed in flames.

"This is the end, you filthy cretins!" Black Doom shouted before vanishing in a flash of light.

"Well, that was fun." Blaze said as she returned to her normal form. She grabbed her hair and pulled it into a pony tail, enclosing it in a red ring. She turned to the group; Team Virtex was now awake. "You guys look like you've seen a ghost."

"Blaze!" Marine shouted joyfully.

The wild raccoon jumped into Blaze's arms as the feline started swinging her around playfully. Blaze laughed as she set Marine down, who looked like she was ready to throw up. Rector, Howl, and Raine welcomed Blaze back to their world. But what Blaze noticed the most was that Silver was the only one who didn't greet her. Silver remained rooted to his spot, not believing what he was seeing. Blaze smirked and walked over to the confused hedgehog.

"Aren't you happy to see me?" Blaze asked playfully.

"I am, it's just...how do I know this is real?" Silver asked.

"I was hoping you would say that." Blaze smiled brightly.

Blaze quickly grasped the sides of Silver's head pulled him closer. Their faces came together and kissed with unbridled passion. It was then Silver realized that it wasn't a dream. No dream had even felt this good. As they separated, Silver found his voice and said.

"Welcome home, Blaze."

"Glad to be home, Silver." Blaze whispered. She let go of Silver, causing him to fall on his face, and tossed the blue Sol Emerald to Marine. "I believe this belongs to you. I think you and the rest of your family will take good care of it."

"Thanks, Blaze." Marine said happily. "By the way, how did you get back anyway?"

"I don't know." Blaze said confused. "I've been searching for a long time to return to this dimension, but found nothing. Then all of a sudden, the keystone on my forehead started glowing. Next thing in knew, I was in super form and on this beach."

"I bet the Sol Emeralds called you back." Silver suggested. "Just like when they called you back to your dimension."

"That sounds about right." Blaze nodded. "By the way, I saw what you did to Black Doom, Marine. Very impressive."

"Yeah, but I don't know how I did it." Marine said. "Do you know?"

"I haven't the slightest clue." Blaze shook her head.

"I guess we'll have to find out sooner or later." Howl said.

They all nodded in agreement and figured they'll find out about the secret of Marine's powers eventually. The sun was beginning to set across the horizon and the heroes decided to take this opportunity to watch it. Silver and Blaze grasped their hands together, knowing this time there will be nothing to separate them.

* * *

The scene alters to a ship somewhere out in the Caribbean Sea. Thorn Rose was standing and the bow of the ship, staring unblinkingly out across the vast sea. Just then, Gale the Hedgehog walked out with a small bottle in his hand. He sat down and leaned against the edge of the ship, taking a swig of the bottle, and glancing at Thorn.

"You've been like that for a while." Gale stated. "Anything wrong?"

"Nothing wrong, Captain." Thorn replied. "But I have felt something strange."

"Care to elaborate?" Gale tempted.

"For a while now, I've been feeling a strange power." Thorn explained. "It's somewhat different, but very similar to my own powers."

"So you think there's another sorcerer out there?" Gale asked, taking another swig.

"A sorceress by the feel of it." Thorn said. "And a very young one at that. Probably no older than eight or nine years. It's very rare to see anyone with magical prowess at such a young age. I didn't discover my powers until I was thirteen. But judging by the lack of use, this girl isn't in full control of her powers. If I find her, maybe I could teach her."

"Do you know what she looks like?" Gale asked.

"No, but I do have a name." Thorn replied. "Marine the Raccoon."

* * *

**Welcome back, Blaze the Cat! Will Thorn find Marine and teacher her to control her magic? Will Black Doom usurp the God of Darkness? Is Sonic and Shadow done rebuilding the house? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review**


	50. Fighting Fear

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

PotC, Kingdom Hearts © Disney

Chapter Fifty: Fighting Fear

The heroes could hardly believe it has been two days since Blaze returned. Silver reintroduced her to the team during dinner the same day she returned and they welcomed her back ecstatically; Cream was especially happy to have her roommate back. Shadow decided to celebrate by throwing a party; partly for Blaze's return, partly for finishing Team Virtex's house.

* * *

The scene shifts to the City of Soleanna. The sky was cloudless, the running water was clear, and Amy was buying out every store in the central plaza. Unfortunately, Rector, Howl, and Sonic found themselves being dragged along for the ride. Rector didn't complain, but Sonic and Howl were swamped under the heavy load of shopping bags Amy heaved on them. After much convincing Rector took their bags and effortlessly carried them in one arm.

"Ooh, we have just got to have these!" Amy exclaimed with glee.

"Ugh, Rector, doesn't your sister have any self-control?" Howl moaned.

"She a girl, this comes natural to her." Rector shrugged. "My main concern is how she'll be paying for all this."

"G.U.N. pays for all our stuff." Sonic said bored, flipping a black box open and close. "The Commander nearly had a heart attack when he saw the latest bill. He asked Amy and Kumori to stop, but that's as like to happen as Knuckles winning the Nobel Prize."

"Just great." Rector groaned, following his sister into the next shop.

"By the way, where are Raine and Marine?" Sonic asked.

"Raine was called to the Central City Hospital for a medical emergency." Howl replied. "And if I know Marine, she's probably somewhere with Blaze. She hasn't left her alone since she got back."

"Now I feel sorry for Blaze." Sonic sniggered, continuing to flip the black box.

"Now it's my turn to ask the questions." Howl said. "What is with that black box you've got?"

"This ain't a box." Sonic stated. "This is a special compass. My dad gave it to me last time I saw him."

"You sure it's a compass?" Howl questioned as Sonic flipped the box open. "It doesn't tell north."

Howl was correct; the compass didn't point to either north, south, east, or west. Instead, the inside was a small disc contain inside a domed glass cover. The disc was mostly clear with the exception of the small arrow.

"That's because it's not supposed to point north." Sonic explained. "I was only three when my father told me about it. He said it only points to the thing the holder wants most."

"Then you'd best not tell Rector that." Howl muttered softly.

Sonic stared at Howl with a confused expression until Rector and Amy walked out of the store with another load of bags. All of a sudden, Sonic's compass pointed in one direction. Sonic looked up and found that the arrow was pointed at Amy. Sonic's face burned red for a moment until he noticed how close Rector was. He quickly snapped the compass and stuffed into his quills before Rector could notice.

"Can we go home now?" Rector whined.

"Not yet." Amy said stubbornly. "We've only gone to half the shops in town. We'll hit the rest after lunch."

"Rector, nothing personal." Howl whispered to the red hedgehog. "But you sister is a shopping tyrant."

"What can I say?" Rector shrugged. "She inherited the trait from our mother."

"You get used to it after a while." Sonic grinned mischievously.

After being dragged for hours, the guys were relieved to finally have a break during lunch. They stopped at the outdoor café, which was recommended by Silver. After mentioning the grey hedgehog's name, they were treated to a free lunch, much to Rector's money-free joy. Amy went on about how they were going to stop at all the other stores until she reached the point about a bridal shop. At that point, Sonic rocketed off in the other direction, mostly because of the glare he was receiving from Rector.

"I can't believe you scared him off!" Amy screamed; they were resuming their shopping expedition.

"There is no way I am letting some high-speed rat go anywhere with my baby sister." Rector said sternly. "And besides, you're only twelve years old. It's too early for you to be thinking about marriage."

"I'm not a baby, anymore!" Amy yelled. "I'm a mature, young woman."

"Not as long as I'm around." Rector growled

Howl, on the other hand, had no say in the conversation. Even though he could put up a match against Rector, Howl did not question the red hedgehog. It was times like this, he was glad that he left his younger brother, Feral, back in Japan. I think everyone has had enough sibling feuds to last them a lifetime.

"_Amy's just as stubborn as Feral._" Howl thought, watching the siblings yell at one another. "_Glad I don't have to go through that everyday._" All of a sudden, Howl's sensitive nose caught a strange scent; it smelled like blood and corpses. "_Where is that smell coming from?_"

"I don't need you watch over me all the time." Amy stated.

"Like hell, you don't!" Rector exclaimed.

"Rector, there's something here." Howl informed.

"What do you mean?" Rector asked seriously.

"I smell something." Howl said, taking another whiff of the air. "Something not human."

"What do you...?" Amy asked.

Amy was cut off when a chord of screams erupted from the central plaza. Sensing danger, Howl and the hedgehog siblings dashed back to the plaza; Rector completely dumped the bags. Amy swore to pay him back for that later. The trio screeched to a halt as they saw a monster emerge from the bridal shop. **(Ironic, isn't it?) **The creature was a silver cobra with arms at the side, and a long, lashing tail for feet. There was also a black heart with red thorns tattooed on his chest. A trail if blood was dripping from his fangs; a few human crumpled below him.

"That's sick." Rector said in disgust.

"What in the world is that thing?" Howl questioned, preparing to draw his sword.

"I'm so glad you asked?"

The heroes quickly turned on their heels, only to be lashed aside by a long silver tail. Howl was thrown into the fountain in the center, while Rector and Amy were hurled into the nearest shop. Howl quickly pulled himself out of the water and unsheathed his sword. The grey wolf charged forward and jumped into the air as the silver cobra lashed its tail at him. Howl started spinning around in midair, his sword held outwards, and took the form of a tornado. The whirling Howl was aimed over the silver serpent until the cobra suddenly shot a strange liquid from its fangs. The liquid jumped right into the tornado, splattering all across Howl's face. A hot, burning sensation formed around Howl's face, forcing him to break from his attack. Seeking the opportunity, the silver cobra lashed its tail at the grey wolf, slamming him to the ground.

"What is this stuff?" Howl grunted, trying to wipe away the liquid.

"It's a special substance formed inside my body." The silver cobra replied. "You are lucky it only hit your eyes, which will only temporarily blind you. If it had hit the center over your heart, you would have died."

"How dare you attack my friend?!" Rector roared furiously.

The silver serpent turned just in time to dodge a stone column that was thrown at him. Rector tore off another column and hurled it at the direction of the serpent. The silver cobra easily slithered around it and made a dive for Rector. Unfortunately for the snake, he did not see Amy's hammer headed straight for him until it crashed into his face. The silver serpent was thrown near the café; Silver's friend nearly had a heart attack. The cobra nearly straightened up until rector made a dive for him. The serpent and Rector grasped each others hands, pushing each other in a test of strength. Rector had the advantage.

Not so confident now, are ya?" Rector grinned. "Now start talking. Who are you?"

"My name is Skarga." The snake known as Skarga grunted. "I am a commander of the Heartless."

"The Heartless?" Rector questioned. "What are you talking about?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Skarga grinned, despite the stress.

"Big brother, watch out!" Amy cried.

Rector didn't have time to figure out what Amy was screaming about until Skarga's tail lashed across his face. Rector was sent tumbling across the street until Skarga chased after him and slammed his tail at the top of the hedgehog's head. Rector tried to stagger back to his feet, but Skarga's tail wrapped around his chest to pin him down. Skarga readied his fangs to strike until a red hammer suddenly smashed into his face. Skarga was sent through a shop window and smothered under a pile of merchandise. Amy held her hammer ready in case she would have to fight the snake again. Suddenly, she felt a hand tap on her shoulder and swiftly shot her hammer around. Lucky Sonic ducked out of the way just in time to avoid being sent to the next continent.

"Whoa! Watch where you're swinging that thing!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Oh, Sonic!" Amy cried, bringing Sonic into a bone breaking hug. "I thought I would never see you again!"

"Can't breathe." Sonic gasped. "Can't breathe."

"Sorry." Amy apologized, releasing Sonic. "I was just so worried that something had happened to you."

"What happened to them?" Sonic asked, motioning towards Howl and Rector. "They look pretty beat up."

"Some monster named Skarga did this." Amy said worried. "Rector and Howl tried to fight him, but he was too much."

"Man, this guy must be tough to do this." Sonic said eagerly.

"I'll take that as a compliment." A voice hissed.

Sonic felt a sudden urge of anxiety, knowing the voice belonged to the attacker. Sonic shot around to start a fight with the serpent. But the moment Sonic spotted Skarga, he suddenly froze. Skarga hissed venomously as Sonic eyes shot wide with unnerving fear. Skarga slithered closer to Sonic, but the blue blur found himself stepping backwards. Amy felt worried for Sonic. She had never seen him act like this before. As he started backwards, Sonic accidentally tripped over his own feet and fell back. Noticing the hedgehog's hesitation, Skarga whipped his tail and sent Sonic flying over the fountain.

"Sonic!" Amy cried.

The pink hedgehog tried to run over and help, but Skarga had other plans. He swerved around and enclosed Amy with his tail.

"You're not going anywhere, girl." Skarga hissed. "In fact, I think I might have some use for you."

"Let my sister go!"

Rector had recovered from his earlier beating just in time to see Sonic get whipped around. Howl had also picked himself up and was washing away the liquid on his face in the fountain. Rector kicked at a nearby street lamp and broke it apart, leaving a sharp ended pole. He looked ready to throw the pole until Skarga held Amy in his line of fire.

"Attack me and you put your sister in danger." Skarga hissed menacingly. Rector hesitated for a moment, but ultimately dropped the pole to the ground. "Th ought you would see it my way. Now, I have a princess to meet. Farewell.

"Amy!" Rector called.

"Rector, help!" Amy cried.

The red hedgehog dived to save his sister, but it was too late. Skarga plunged his head into the ground and burrowed a hole to escape, taking Amy along for the ride. Rector, angered about losing his sister, tried to punch his way through the ground to chase him. but he wasn't like Knuckles, he couldn't dig. Howl, no longer blinded, placed a gentle hand on his friends shoulder.

"I failed her." Rector said mournfully. "I can't believe I lost my sister again."

"It's not your fault." Howl assured. "Listen, Skarga needs to keep Amy alive so that we can't attack him. I'm sure she'll be fine."

Just then, Sonic had come back, looking a little shaken from the experience. He fidgeted more then usual and was looking left and right in case he might spot Skarga again. Suddenly, Rector's anger flared and charged toward the blue hedgehog. Sonic spotted him just in time to dodge his Leaf Whirlwind technique and sidestepped away from his back fist.

"Hey, what's the big idea?!" Sonic exclaimed, dodging another fist.

"This is all your fault!" Rector roared, not letting up on his assault. "If hadn't just stood their like a statue, he never would have taken Amy!" He reeled back his arm for another punch until Howl grabbed him by his arm. "Howl, let me go!"

"Stop this already." Howl said seriously. "This isn't Sonic's fault.

"I not need you to..."

"It is my fault." Sonic interrupted sadly. Rector suddenly calmed down, signaling Howl to let go. "I don't know why, but ever since I was born, I have been deathly afraid of snakes. Every time I see one, I just freeze up. Some hero I turned out to be."

"I can understand that you are afraid." Rector said sympathetically. "My greatest fear has always been heights. Whenever I look down from a high structure, I would freeze up like you did. But despite my fears, I could conquer them by remembering one thing."

"What's that?" Sonic asked.

"I remember what is important to me." Rector stated. "I love my sister and I care for my team; that's what helps me move on."

"But what if that doesn't work for me?" Sonic asked.

"Sonic, you once told me that you loved my sister." Rector said. "Now is your chance to prove it."

"We better hurry." Howl interrupted. "According to that snake, he should be heading to Princess Elise's castle."

Rector nodded and made a run towards the direction of the Soleanna castle. Howl gazed at Sonic for a moment before chasing after his comrade. Sonic was now left in the remains of the central plaza with only Rector's words to guide him. He did love Amy, but was it enough to overcome his fears. Sonic reached into his quills and pulled out his fathers compass. He opened the compass and stared at it with intensified interest.

* * *

The scene alters inside the Soleanna palace. Skarga's arrival was evident as all the guards had been killed at their posts with massive holes in their chests. Elise looked horrified as Skarga slaughtered the last remaining guards that stood in his way. The path was made much easier Skarga used Amy as a shield and Elise commanded the guards not to harm her. Skarga slithered his way up to the throne and approached the princess, who remained surprisingly calm.

"You don't appear threatened by my appearance." Skarga said amusingly.

"I have seen far worse things than you." Elise stated calmly. "As princess of Soleanna, I requested that you state yourself."

"Since you asked so kindly." Skarga said humorously. "I am Skarga, a commander of the Heartless."

"The Heartless?" Elise repeated. "Tell me, why have you come here?"

"The Heartless are in need of some new recruits." Skarga explained. "You see, only those who have the strongest hearts can become the strongest Heartless, such as myself. I have seen into the hearts of you and this girl." Skarga lifted Amy into plain view with his tail. "You two will make excellent Heartless."

"I will surrender myself." Elise bowed. "But only if you let Amy go."

"Sorry, princess." Skarga hissed. "You're not in the position to be making any deals."

Elise tried to remain calm, but there was something about the snake that sent chills down her spine. Unbeknownst to Skarga and his prisoners, two characters had followed his trial. Rector and Howl easily pushed through the castle defenses, mostly because they were already dead. They climbed up the wall and found themselves watching the scene from the rafter.

"Those Heartless sound like a vile sort of creatures." Howl whispered. "When do we take him?"

"I don't know." Rector said honestly. "As long as he has Amy, we can't touch him. we need to find a way to separate him from Amy and the princess. Then we should be able to take him without any trouble.

"But the questions, how are we going to get them apart?" Howl said.

"You could sneak up on him and take the girl while he's not looking."

"You know, that's not a bad..."

Rector stopped himself for a moment when he realized the voice didn't belong to either of them. The looked back and found Skarga hanging behind them. Skarga punch the two across the ace, sending them down hard on the floor below. Groaning, the two picked themselves up as Skarga slithered towards them. Howl was ready to draw his sword when he remembered that Amy was still being held prisoner. Skarga spewed the same liquid from earlier and the two jumped out of the way. While they were distracted, Skarga whipped away with his tail, Amy included, Howl and grasped Rector firmly by his neck.

"You don't know when to give up, do you?" Skarga hissed. "I like that. With your strength and daring nerve, you would make a fine Heartless."

"I'd rather die than join up with you." Rector gasped.

"That won't be a problem." Skarga said, baring his fangs.

"No, leave him alone!" Amy cried. "It's me you want!"

"Silence, girl!" Skarga hissed. "I have had enough of your mouth!"

"That's no way to talk to a lady."

Before anyone had a chance to realize it, a blue ball zoomed into the throne chamber and slammed into the side of Skarga's face. Due to the attack, Skarga was force to release both Rector and Amy. Elise jumped out of the way as Skarga was sent flying into her thrown. Howl quickly picked up the princess and jumped back to join his friends. Amy hugged her brother in happiness and was even more excited when the blue ball uncurled to reveal none other than Sonic. But for some reason, Sonic was wearing a blindfold.

"Sonic, I knew you would come!" Amy cheered.

"I guess I was wrong about you." Rector smirked. "By the way, what's with the blindfold?"

"Like I said, I freeze up whenever I see a snake." Sonic stated.

"I get it now." Howl said in understanding. "If he can't see the fear, he won't have a reason to be afraid of it."

"But how can you fight something you can't see?" Elise asked in concern.

"Not a problem." Sonic smirked, giving his signature thumbs up. "Just leave everything to me."

Just then, Skarga emerged from the ground beneath them. Howl set Elise down and jumped in front of her with his sword held out. Rector pushed his sister behind him, not wanting a repeat performance. But despite the many annoyances, Sonic seemed to be the one attracting most of Skarga's attention.

"You filthy rat!" Skarga hissed angrily. "I am Skarga, A Commander of the Heartless. Who do you think you are?"

"Just a true blue hero." Sonic replied.

"You're lucky you have a blindfold." Skarga said. "Now you won't be able to see your death!"

At that motion, Skarga snapped his head forward at the blue hedgehog. Amy and the others showed worried expression, but Sonic seemed to be smiling for some reason. After many lessons with Shadow, Sonic learned how to transfer chaos energy around his body. Sonic sent most of his chaos into his ears, heightening his hearing. He could distinctly hear Skarga's body slithering around the floor. After finding his target, Sonic gathered an amount of blue chaos energy in his open palm and shaped it into the form of a sphere.

"SONIC WIND!" Sonic shouted.

The attack nailed its mark. Sonic delivered a striking blow to Skarga's chest. Skarga gasped momentarily with his last breath and fell backwards in a crumpled heap. After hearing the soft thud, Sonic removed the blindfold and saw Skarga's dead body on the floor. All of a sudden, Amy came up to him and crushed him in her signature bone breaking hug.

"Oh, Sonic!" Amy cried. "I knew you could do it!"

"Amy, let him breathe." Howl suggested. "He's been through enough today."

"At least he took out that serpent." Rector nodded.

"What's that?" Elise asked.

Everyone looked and found Elise pointing at Skarga's body. They saw why as Skarga's body was suddenly evaporate in a cloud of darkness. When the darkness faded, a small trail of energy in the shape of a heart appeared for a moment before vanishing. Everyone was quiet for a moment, wondering what had happened to the serpent. Was he really dead, or was it some kind of trap? But with all these questions, the one that really caught them was...

"What was that thing inside him?" Elise asked. "Was that a heart?"

"Skarga did say his group was looking for strong hearts." Howl said. "Maybe, when they take someone's heart, these "Heartless" consume those hearts to grow their ranks. But that's only my idea."

"Looks like we have a lot more to deal with then just Eggman and Nazo." Amy said.

"Aw, I'm sure we can take them." Sonic said confidently. "Especially now that I conquered my fear."

Sonic smiled proudly at himself, feeling like he could take on ten Nazo. That didn't last very long. He felt something drape across his shoulder and nearly screamed when he saw something green and thin. Sonic jumped up nearly through the roof and clung tightly to the rafters. The others were laughing when Rector revealed that it was only a garden hose.

"Yeah, he conquered it all right!" Rector laughed harder.

"Ha, ha, very funny." Sonic grimaced. "Now can someone get me down?"

But unfortunately, Rector suggested treating themselves to dinner down in the town and everyone agreed. Sonic remained there for the rest of the night.

* * *

The scene alters to Naga's hidden mountain base. Naga was working tirelessly on a new experiment he had concocted, testing it on one of his servants. The test proved to be a failure and the servant was dead in a matter of seconds. But despite the failure, Naga seemed happy.

"Perhaps I used the wrong mixture." Naga said pleasantly. "Aw well, there are plenty of others to test on." Just then, the door to the room slid open and Naga's faithful pet, Nagini, slithered inside. "Nagini, what information do you bring?"

"عثر بالقرب من" Nagini hissed in a language only Naga could understand.

"What! Skarga!" Naga hissed furiously, destroying his experiment in rage. "What is he doing?! I told him specifically that this was my world!

"ابطال قتلوه قبل لحظات." Nagini hissed.

"Somehow, I am not surprised." Naga said pleasantly. "Because of the Chaos Emeralds and the recent addition of the Sol Emeralds, this world is filled with too much light for any Heartless. A normal one would have died moments upon reaching this world."

"ابطال قتلوه قبل لحظ" Nagini hissed.

"Sonic's fear most likely comes from the day I experimented on him." Naga said. "The incident clearly tramuatized him. But right now, I need a way to bend around the light."

"That is why you need someone outside the light and the darkness."

Just then, a cloud of darkness erupted from the floor. When the darkness disappeared, Kai, Naga's most loyal servant, was found in its place.

"Kai, what has happened on your mission?" Naga asked.

"It is over." Kai said monotone. "Organization XIII is defeated."

"And the Nobodies?" Naga asked.

Kai smiled, looked like it hurt doing it, and snapped his fingers towards the ceiling. A hole of darkness filled the ceiling and several white creatures fell onto the ground. They came in many size and each had a different form. They all bared the same symbol: An upside-down heart with a spiked cross.

"They are at your disposal." Kai bowed. "As long as I exist, they can't betray you."

"And you existence will be eternal." Naga said respectfully. "Kai, The Last Nobody."

* * *

**Fear is an evil that can defeated. What is Naga's connection to the Heartless? What will the evil serpent do with his new army? Who is the real Kai? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	51. Reunion of Many

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Chapter Fifty-One: Reunion of Many

The scene opens up in a small town in the country side. The sky was dark and rain poured down heavy on the people below. The town folks were trying to escape the rain, and at one roadside restaurant, a certain redhead remained. Rai was sitting in a seat near the window, watching as they rain pattered against the glass window. One of the waiters came up to him.

"Can I get ya anything?" He asked.

"No really." Rai said. "Unless you know where I can find someone."

"Not many people stop in this town." The waiter said. "They usually just pass by. Who are you looking for?"

"My father." Rai answered. He looked at his hands at the communicator the Sonic Heroes gave him. "I was only a year old when I last saw him. I keep getting close to finding him, but he always manages to get away from me."

"Oh, sorry about that." The waiter said. "I don't know what I can tell you, except to keep at it." Rai nodded and stood up before making his way to the door. "Where are ya headed now?"

"Who knows, man?" Rai said. "Who knows?"

With all things said, Rai opened the door and exited into the downpour outside. He aimlessly wandered the outside of the town, no real goal set in his mind. He stared at the communicator for one more moment before replacing in his backpack. Making sure no one would see him, Rai shot off the ground and zoomed skywards over the horizon. But as luck would have, he had been seen.

Nagini was watching.

* * *

The scene alters to the Egg-Carrier III, which was flying the Australian border. Mecha Shadow was watching over the cloning machine, Violet was reading her book, Metal Jet and Metal Espio were trying to listen in on the Sonic Heroes, Metal Knuckles was beating up random robots, and Metal Sonic was trying to escape Metal Amy. But all the while, Eggman sat quietly in the control room. He had been like this ever since Violet had been defeated, from what he heard, by his own son.

"_Rai, where are you?_" Eggman thought. "_How could I have let you get away from me?_"

"EGGMAN!" yelled an obnoxious voice.

"_Why did I create him?_" Eggman mentally groaned.

Bokkun zoomed in, screaming at the top of his artificial lungs. After a short period of seconds, Eggman snapped and gasped his hand around the robots tiny body, cutting off the circulation

"You better have a good reason for disturbing me." Eggman said.

"I got a delivery for you." Bokkun gasped. "Some guy named Naga."

"What?!" Eggman exclaimed.

Eggman had grown to hate the name with every fiber of his being. It was because of the sadistic snake that Eggman had lost his son in the first place. Eggman released the tiny robot. Bokkun reached into his small bag and pulled out a gigantic flat screen television. To this day, no one knows he managed it. The little robot flipped it on and a familiar green viper.

"Greetings, old friend." Naga hissed. "I am very fortunate that you manage to create such a bumbling mech. You never really did think things through when it can to artificial personalities." Eggman hit Bokkun in the head for no reason. "Anyway, I think its time we put an end to our former partnership. Meet me at the grounds outside Central City. Oh, and bring your soldiers, I'll be bringing my own."

"That cursed snake" Eggman growled. "When I get my hands on him, I'll – What's that?" Bokkun's television was starting a countdown. It was only when it reached to one that Eggman realized. "OH, CRA...!"

The television exploded, forming a cloud of smoke in the command center. As the smoke began to die down, Eggman could distinctly hear the open and close, shortly followed by a small laugh.

"I'll deal with him later." Eggman grumbled. "Naga you will regret the day we ever met."

* * *

The scene alters a few hours later in the open field outside Central City. Naga the Snake and his loyal subject, Kai, were patiently waiting for Eggman and his troops.

"Why must we waste our time with these lowly mortals?" Kai questioned monotonously.

"Nagini informed me that Rai is very close." Naga explained. "If he is to reunites with his father, then all our plans will be compromised. And if that happens, Eggman may expose the truth to Sonic."

"Then why not use the Nobodies to rid ourselves of Sonic?" Kai asked.

"Have you forgotten?" Naga hissed. "If my revenge against Gale is to be complete, I must capture Sonic and steal his body for my own. Once I am in control, I can awaken Sonic's true power." Naga raised his head and looked towards the sky. "Ah, it looks like our guests have finally arrived."

Just as Naga said, Eggman came hovering from the sky in his Egg-mobile. Metal Sonic appeared next to him along with a group of black clones using Chaos Control. Eggman had made some improvements on the black clones after a report from Violet about their last mission. He set their intelligence on an average level, that way they could keep their morphing abilities.

"Quiet an impressive array of servants." Naga commented.

"I am a servant to no one." Metal stated.

"Where are your soldiers?" Eggman questioned. "You specifically said you would be bringing your own."

"And I have." Naga said pleasingly. "Shall you do the honors, Kai?"

"My pleasure." Kai said monotonously.

The blue-haired human raised his hand over his head and snapped his fingers loudly. A moment later, several clouds of darkness began to form from the ground. When the clouds disappeared, four new creatures were found in their place. They were human-sized creatures wearing white clothing with a grey mask and a pair of swords strapped in back. On their sleeves, the bared the symbol of their species: an upside-down heart with a spiked cross.

"What are those things?" Metal questioned.

"Their former leader, Roxas, named these creatures Samurai's." Kai stated. "It is very obvious why."

"You think those four can stand up against a group of my black clones." Eggman chortled. "These past fifteen years must have deteriorated your mind, Naga, if you think you can win."

"Actions speak louder than words, Ivo." Naga hissed menacingly. "Let's see what you make of them. Attack!"

"Don't let them get past!" Metal ordered.

The Samurai and the black clones charged forward in the middle of the field. The black clones may have had a set level of intelligence and shape-shifting abilities, but the Samurai were clearly superior to them. It was barely a second after the black clone began to stretch their claws that the Samurai went on the offensive. The unsheathed their swords and stabbed the clones in their one weak point: the brain. In a moments notice, the entire group of black clones was reduced to a mass of black puddles. Metal and Eggman seemed taken back by this unexpected turn.

"But how?" Eggman gasped. "Those were my prized creations."

"As you can see, Eggman." Naga said pleasingly. "Our warriors easily surpass those made by mere mortals."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Eggman questioned.

"There is something strange about those creatures." Metal stated.

"What do you mean, Metal?" Eggman questioned.

"Since the beginning of this battle, I have been monitoring their powers." Metal explained. "But that's the strangest thing, they don't have any heartbeats. They still have life inside them, so they are clearly not dead." Metal pointed a claw towards Kai. "And that human is also similar to those creatures he conjured."

"Very impressive." Naga said. "You are clearly the most advanced creation in this age of modern technology."

"That's because my creator built me from the future." Metal stated. "I am truly the ultimate being in the universe."

"Let's just see how powerful you are." Naga hissed. "Samurai, attack!"

The Samurai bowed their covered heads and jumped at the mechanical hedgehog. Eggman redirected his Egg-mobile so that he would not be caught in the middle of the action. Metal curved backwards as one of the Samurai's swords neared his head. With the Samurai left wide open, Metal took a stab at its heart. Metal's claws stabbed through its chest, but he could feel no heart in its place. It faded away into darkness. But before Metal could have time to wonder, two Samurai's swung their swords at his legs. Acting fast, Metal flipped up in the air, grabbing the Samurai's head in the process. Metal used his electrical abilities to incinerate them to dust. As Metal touched the ground, the last Samurai snuck up from behind and took a swing at him. But Metal caught its sword, sending an electrical surge down the blade.

"Mighty impressive." Naga complimented. "Your creator knew what he was doing when he built you."

"I have destroyed your men." Metal said, gathering energy for his signature technique. "Now it's your turn. METAL SURGE!"

Metal held out his claw, which was surrounded in a wave of electrical energy, and shot towards Naga at blinding speed. Just when he was in reach of the snake, something clashed against his claw that sent it away from Naga. When Metal looked back, his attack extinguished, he found Kai holding a three-pronged dagger.

"If you wish to reach Lord Naga, you must first pass me." Kai said.

"If you have a death wish, then so be it." Metal said.

Metal raised his leg and took a swing at Kai's torso. But just as it was about to make contact, Kai suddenly vanished. Metal was baffled at how Kai could just suddenly disappear. But when he heard the grass moved behind him, he swung his claw backwards. Kai halted his claw by using the dagger he was holding. Metal was starting to become annoyed with the long-haired human and decided to take things up a notch. The metallic hedgehog activated his super speed and pushed himself away from the blue-haired human. But as Metal zoomed away, something scraped against his shoulder blade. He looked over and was shocked to find that Kai was throwing daggers while keep at the same pace as him.

"How can this human possibly keep up?" Metal muttered to himself. "Unless he's not human."

"I suggest you keep your mind focused on the battle!" Kai shouted, throwing another dagger near Metal's head. "Otherwise, there won't be much of a battle left!"

"Your arrogance will be the death of you!" Metal replied.

"If I had a heart, this would be the part where I die of laughter!" Kai counteracted.

Metal didn't bother to try and figure out what Kai had said; too busy trying not to get cut open. But Eggman, on the other hand, started to ponder. He was waiting on the sideline, no longer using his Egg-mobile. Naga was standing not too far from him, no truly interested in the battle. Eggman looked serious for a moment before he turned to Naga.

"No heartbeats, but still has a living essence." Eggman said. "Tell me, that boy wouldn't happen to be a Nobody, would he?"

"How do you know about the Nobodies?" Naga questioned, genuinely surprised.

"After I thought you were dead, I stole your research" Eggman explained. "After reading all you finds and works, I learned about everything you were studying. About the Heartless, the Nobodies, and Kingdom Hearts."

"You were always a nosy fool." Naga hissed. "But it was only through your financial aid that I was able to conduct my research of the heart. It almost makes me feel bad about what I had done with your wife."

"Salina?" Eggman gasped. "What have you done to her?"

"Remember how I said she died from giving birth to your son?" Naga questioned. Eggman nodded. "That was a lie. I had in fact poisoned her during the birthing process."

"But why?" Eggman asked. "What has she done to you?"

"It was your fault, Ivo." Naga hissed menacingly. "I suggested that we perform experiments to create the ultimate life-form; a rebirth of Shadow the Hedgehog. But you denied me the funding need to perform the process. I knew I need to motivate you." Naga grinned wickedly. "That's where you wife came in. Knowing you would be emotionally broken, I persuaded you into continuing my research. That eventually led to the Rai we have come to today."

"You a sick, twisted, heartless snake." Eggman growled.

"You are correct in more ways than one." Naga said malevolently.

Eggman stared in a confused manner until Naga began removing the top portion of his gi. Once off, Eggman was greeted by a sight he did not anticipate. There was black heart with red thorns tattooed on his chest.

"You're a Heartless." Eggman said stunned.

"A Heartless Commander to be precise." Naga explained. "You see, when Gale supposedly killed me, I was lost in the darkness. But then I was rescued by a man named Ansem. He saw the darkness in my heart and allowed me to return as one of the Commanding Heartless. All he asked for was one thing in return: Find the creator of the Heartless."

"But according to your research," Eggman cut in. "The Heartless were created by a man from a world called Radiant Garden."

"That's what I thought at first as well." Naga said. "But then I learned that the Heartless were long created before the man was even born. They were formed by beings whose technology once surpassed any other worlds."

"Who?" Eggman asked.

"The Babylonians." Naga's replied.

Eggman finally knew Naga's alternative motive. Besides seeking revenge against Gale the Hedgehog, Naga was assigned to capture the Babylon Rogues. But Eggman could say anything on the matter, to objects crashed into the ground between them. As they dust cleared, Metal and Kai were found weakly trying to get to their feet. Kai had three long claw marks cut across his shirt and chest; Metal had several dents and his right arm was sparking.

"I have failed you, Lord Naga." Kai said. "I couldn't defeat him.

"There is no need to trouble yourself, Kai." Naga said. "Return to the base and we will discuss this matter later."

"As you wish, Lord Naga." Kai bowed, before vanishing in a portal of darkness.

"Metal, watch out!" Eggman forewarned. "Naga is far worse than him."

"Oh, I am much worse than you think." Naga hissed malevolently, reeling back his arm. "Farewell...old friend."

Before Metal or Eggman had a chance to realize it, Naga threw out his arm and it extended farther than normal. It swept past Metal's head and made a direct course for Eggman. Just when the evil serpent thought it was over, a blue flash zoomed out of nowhere and struck his hand. Naga hissed in pain as he retracted his arm. His hand was burned black. Metal and Eggman were utterly confused until Rai floated down from the sky and gracefully landed on the ground. Rai had a confident smirk on his face while Naga hissed with the utmost rage.

"Not feeling confident now, are ya, slither-face?" Rai grinned.

"You?!" Naga hissed. "You are just as meddlesome as your father, Rai."

"Rai?!" Eggman exclaimed.

"You know this boy?" Metal asked Eggman.

"That's no boy." Eggman replied. "That's my son."

"If you know what's good for you, you'll leave us alone!" Rai shouted.

"Not a chance!" Naga yelled back. "I will not let all my careful planning go to waste!"

"Ok, your funeral." Rai said confidently.

Naga reeled back his other arm and shot it forward like his previous attack. But Rai showed no signs of cowardice. The flaming redhead pulled back and cupped his hands together. Metal and Eggman watched in fascination as Rai slowly started together blue chaos energy into his palms.

"KA-ME-HA-ME-HA!" Rai yelled.

Rai thrust his hands forward and ejected a stream of blue energy from his palms. Naga barely had time to retract his arm when the blue stream was already upon him. The ground erupted in a flare of bright light, blinding everyone in the vicinity. When the light faded away, a large carter was found in Naga's place. The small fading wisps of darkness signified that Naga had escaped.

"Aw man, he got away." Rai complained.

"You did well enough." Eggman said, walking up to his son. It was an emotional moment for Eggman, having reunited with his only son after fifteen years. "You know, I've always dreamed of this day. I had hoped that somehow, you would still be alive somewhere, just waiting for me to find you."

"Well, I got tired of waiting." Rai said. "You weren't exactly looking to far with all your world conquest plans."

"To tell you the truth, that's why I started trying to conquer the world." Eggman shrugged. "After I lost your mother and I thought you were dead, I took my anger out on the world. I tired to hide my pain by causing pain to others."

"I guess I can understand that...dad." Rai smirked.

"Dad..." Eggman said thoughtfully. "I like the sound of that." He looked proudly down upon his son. "You know, you look just like me when I was your age. But you have you mother's eyes, and I am guessing her personality as well."

"Let's just hope I don't end up as fat as you." Rai laughed.

"I'm not fat!" Eggman screamed.

"Uh...guys." Metal interjected. "Not to ruin this emotional moment, but we need to get back to base. I need to make some necessary repairs."

"You're not going to give up being evil, are you?" Rai asked his father.

"Not a chance." Eggman grinned. "It's too much fun."

"Just checking." Rai replied.

And with that, Metal used Chaos Control to transport back to the Egg-Carrier. Eggman hovered away in his Egg-mobile with Rai flying weightlessly beside him.

"Hey, Dad!" Rai shouted. "I was wondering, why is Naga so obsessed about keeping Sonic a secret!"

"That's the thing that worries me the most!" Eggman shouted. "You see, Sonic and Shadow are more closely related than you think!"

"What do you mean?!" Rai asked.

"Sonic and Shadow are half-brothers!" Eggman informed.

* * *

The scene alternates to a small house somewhere near the Green Hill Zone. Inside the house, Cream's mother, Vanilla the Rabbit, was making herself a nice cup of tea while thinking of her daughter. Though she worried that Cream could get hurt during a mission, Vanilla knew she was safe around Sonic. She also giggled about Cream's letters, saying how much she loved Tails.

"I wonder how Cream is doing today." Vanilla said out loud. Just then, there was a knock at the door. "Coming!"

Vanilla took her tea and walked over to the door. But once she opened it, she dropped the cup, sending tea all over the carpet. And the cause for this sudden shock was Gale the Hedgehog, leaning against the edge of the door.

"Gale." Vanilla murmured.

"Nice to see you again, Vanilla." Gale smiled courteously. "Sorry about the surprise visit. I didn't think you would react that way." He said, referring to the spilled tea. "Mind I if come in for a moment?"

Vanilla stepped aside to let the Pirate King in, not taking her eyes off him for a minute. She closed the door behind him and carefully stepped over the spilled tea before entering the living room. Gale was already seated in an armchair and Vanilla took a set opposite of him. She was prepared to offer him a drink, but he looked seriously, and backed out.

"Why the sudden visit?" Vanilla asked calmly.

"Naga's still alive." Gale informed.

"Naga?" Vanilla said in surprise. "But I thought you killed him fifteen years ago."

"Apparently, I didn't kill him as well as I thought." Gale said. "I'm trying to gather the crew back and we need you, Vanilla."

"That part of my life is over, Gale." Vanilla said. "I have a daughter now."

"Yeah, I heard about her." Gale smirked as he leaned back. "She's so much like you when you were young. You're both kind, honest, and innocent. And, if I may say so, you both are a little obsessive when it comes to love."

"I never did apologize for all those times, did I?" Vanilla asked embarrassingly.

"No, you didn't." Gale chuckled. "It's lucky I married Aleena, or Sonic and Cream would be siblings." Vanilla and Gale had a good laugh for a moment before Gale turned serious again. "But seriously, we need you back, Vanilla."

"I don't know, Gale." Vanilla said uncertainly. "I need more time to think."

"You know what, forget it." Gale said disdainfully. He started walking towards the door, but stopped for a moment and looked at the confused rabbit. "Vanilla, you were once willing to give everything to help your friends. What happened to you?"

And with that, Gale left. Vanilla remained in her seat for a few moments, thinking over what Gale had just said. Then, slowly, she stood up and walked over to her room. She reached into her closet and pushed aside all her clothing to reveal a dust case. She pulled out the case and set it down on the floor. She kneeled down and opened the case, taking a long look at the contents inside. Meanwhile, Gale was walking down the hill when he saw Wrist, Thorn, Accel, and Mech sitting by a lone tree.

"So what happened?" Wrist asked.

"Did she say yes?" Thorn asked.

"No, she didn't." Gale shook his head. "She's given up on her life as a pirate.

"Don't be so sure of that."

Gale and the others looked over and, surprisingly, found Vanilla running towards them. But her appearance was different then just a few moments ago. She wore a pair of black slack with a black cape in back, black sleeveless top, black shoes, and a pair of black gloves complete with silver ring bracelets. She panted for a moment when she stopped in front of the group, but regained her breath and waved a cheerful smile to everyone.

"Hello, everyone." Vanilla smiled.

"Vanilla!" Mech cheered. "Yeah, I knew you wouldn't turn us down!"

"And it looks like you still have your old suit." Accel smirked pervertedly; Wrist slapped him back to his senses. "I guess I deserved that. But I thought you didn't want to return to your old life."

"I thought I could put my old life behind me." Vanilla said. "But then I remembered the most important thing I taught my daughter. Helping others always come before helping yourself. And if you need my help to defeat Naga, then I'm all yours."

"It's good to have you back, Vanilla." Gale said proudly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't get cheerful yet." Thorn stated. "We still have one more member before our crew is complete. And Kyira is no easy feat."

"I'm not worried." Gale smirked. "I know as long as we stand together, not even Naga can defeat us."

As the sun began to set over the horizon, the crew began remembering their previous adventures and the one they had ahead of them. With Naga still alive, an army at his side, and one more member to search for, things were about to get rough. But they still had each other to depend on, and that's all the assurance they needed.

* * *

**You can always depend on your friends and family. Will Naga capture the Babylon Rogues? Will Gale's crew find their last member? What is the secret behind Sonic and Shadow? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	52. Eye of Evil

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Tomo © Kiba Sniper

LoS © Krome Studios

Chapter Fifty-Two: Eye of Evil

The scene opens up at night in Emerald City. The scene is taken directly to a museum which contained many ancient relics of the past. The one most focused upon was a golden arm-band with a red jewel in the center. With the black line going down the center, the jewel looked eerily like a demons eyes. The museum was silent and undisturbed until two figures made their appearance before the object. Both of them were recognized as Nack the Weasel and Tomo the Chameleon.

"God, why do they always have to make it so dark?" Tomo shivered.

"Ah, the little lizard scared?" Nack said mockingly.

"I am an S-rank criminal ninja!" Tomo exclaimed. "I fear nothing!"

But that was a lie. If anything, Tomo had two great weaknesses. The first was her inability to perform or repel a genjutsu, opposite of her brother. The second was her extreme fear of dark places. It's a wonder how she lasted this long in the Dark Ruler's castle. The two settled their argument and walked up to the golden band.

"Finally, the Eye of Malefor." Tomo said pleasingly. "It's even more beautiful than I thought."

"And I bet it's worth a ton of cash." Nack smiled greedily. Tomo whacked him over the head. "What was that for?!"

"We're not here to satisfy you greed." Tomo sneered. "If Lord Nazo is correct, the Eye will grant us great power."

Nack, however, merely rolled his eyes. Tomo was threatened to stab the weasel with a kunai, but prevented herself from doing so. The Eye of Malefor was contained inside a glass case, which was no doubt guarded by special security. This was one of the times Tomo was grateful to have Nack around. With his magic touch, Nack shut down the security within seconds. Once she was in the clear, Tomo smashed the glass case with her fist. She grabbed the Eye of Malefor and raised it in victory.

"Lord Nazo will praise us highly for this capture." Tomo smirked.

Suddenly, a kunai flew out of the shadows and pinned the Eye of Malefor to the wall.

"Didn't see that coming." Nack commented.

"By order of G.U.N., you two are under arrest of attempted theft."

Tomo and Nack looked over and found Espio deactivating his camouflage technique. Vector and Charmy also appeared from the shadows, but Vector tripped on his own two feet and crushed the small bee under him. Espio groaned at his teammates.

"That could have gone better." Vector groaned.

"You actually expect to beat us with such a feeble team, little brother?" Tomo grinned. "Even someone as pathetic as Nack could whip those two nimrods.

"Yeah." Nack nodded before he realized. "Hey!"

"Vector, Charmy, you take care of the Weasel." Espio instructed. "I'm the only one who stands a chance against my sister, so I'll take her."

"Hey, I'm the one giving orders around here!" Vector shouted. "Charmy, you're with me. Espio, take out your sister."

"Great plan, boss." Charmy saluted.

"_Why is by brother working for this idiot?_" Tomo thought disapprovingly.

Charmy held out his stinger and made a dive for the unbalance weasel. But Nack, surprisingly smarter than the bee, merely sidestepped to the left. Charmy had unwittingly got his stinger caught in the wall. Nack grinned sadistically as he pulled out his rifle and aimed it at Charmy's forehead. He was ready to pull the trigger when Vector suddenly tackled him to the other side of the museum. Nack was found in a crumpled heap on the floor, cross-eyed. Vector traced back and pulled Charmy out of the wall.

"Wicked tackled!" Charmy cheered.

"Those six years of football training finally paid off." Vector said proudly.

"But you never played football." Charmy stated

"Shut up!" Vector snapped.

Back with Espio and Tomo. Espio had drawn an enlarged shuriken while his sister unsheathed her katana. Espio tried swift and easy blow, but Tomo was already one step ahead of him. Her katana followed in every direction Espio's shuriken went, blocking each and every one of his attacks. But Espio wasn't worried. The main purpose for his assault was to get a clear view of Tomo's eye to activate his genjustu. But the more he attacked, the closer he realized a fatal flaw in his plan: Her eyes were closed. Tomo heard Espio's footsteps and swung her katana downwards. Espio raised his shuriken and halted the blade before it touched down to his horn.

"I see your taking precautions." Espio smirked, pushing against the shuriken.

"Even I am wise enough admit my weaknesses." Tomo said; her eyes still closed. "I am not falling for the same trick twice."

"Why don't you save yourself the trouble and just give up now?" Espio said.

"Forget it, little brother." Tomo growled. "I was superior when we were children and I am superior now!"

Tomo pushed her brother as hard as she could and unlocked the weapons from each other. Before he brother could stop her, Tomo swung around and landed her foot in his face. Espio staggered back for a moment before Tomo came back again with a swift right hook. Espio slammed into the wall. Unknowingly, the shock dislodged the kunai from the wall and the Eye of Malefor settled itself...on Espio's wrist.

"What the?" Espio questioned. He tugged at the band, but it refused to budge. "This thing, it's stuck."

"Damn it!" Tomo swore loudly. She flipped back and landed next to Nack, performing a series of hand signs. "You may have won this battle, but the war is far from over. Ninja Art: Space-Time Jutsu!"

At that point, Tomo and Nack disappeared from sight.

"Why'd they leave?" Charmy asked oddly.

"Who knows?" Vector shrugged. He walked over to Espio, who was still tugging at the Eye of Malefor. "Hey, Espio, stop fooling around. We need to put that back before we get in trouble."

"I would gladly like to get rid of it, but the thing's stuck." Espio growled.

Vector rolled his eyes and grabbed the Eye of Malefor. Vector gave one mighty tug, sending Espio flying to the other side of the museum. Charmy attempted to pry off the Eye using his stinger, but Espio pulled his arm back, fearing the young bee's lack of coordination. Team Chaotix went on all night, using everything from butter to medieval torture devices. But their efforts proved to be in vain as the Eye of Malefor remained in place.

"Man, that things stuck good." Vector scratched his head.

"Let's try surgery next!" Charmy said cheerfully, pulling a saw out of nowhere.

"Hell no!" Espio screamed. "Listen, why don't we take it to Tails and see if he can figure a way to get this thing off."

Vector nodded at the suggestion, but Charmy was a little disappointed. As the three detectives traveled back to the Sonic Heroes base, none of them noticed that the gem on Eye of Malefor began to glow ominously.

* * *

The scene changes to daytime in Emerald City. After going through several tests in Tails' workshop, the young genius found himself incapable of removing the Eyes of Malefor. It was as if the arm-band was glued together by magic. Since Jet was the only member of team that could understand magic, they were forced to wait until he returned from his mission in India. After receiving a legal warrant, Espio was not allowed to leave Emerald City until the Eye had been returned to the museum. So, Team Chaotix was spending the rest of the day, exploring the city.

"Well, we're stuck here until Tails get rid of that thing." Vector said out loud. "What'd ya guys wanna do?"

"Let go to Disney Land!" Charmy shouted, earning a few odd looks from the patrons.

"That's seven hundred miles away from this city." Espio stated.

"Maybe we can call Vanilla and see if she'll answer this time." Vector said hopefully.

"If she hasn't answered the first three hundred and eighty-two times," Espio said. "I doubt she'll answer any time soon."

"Ok, Mr. Negative..." Vector frowned. "What do you think we should do?"

Just as he was about to answer, an alarm rang down the street. Being crime fighting detectives, they could distinguish the tones of alarm...well, Espio could at least. It was the alarm bell for a robbery. After telling this to his teammates, Espio charged down the street with Charmy and Vector in tow. The turned the corner where they found two masked humans trying to make a get away with a bag of jewels.

"Criminals are not very subtle these days." Espio commented.

"Hey, you wanted something to do." Vector nodded. "Well, he's your chance."

"Yay!" Charmy cheered. "Time to beat the bad guys!"

Just as the thieves were about to enter their getaway vehicle, Vector ran up and slammed his fist through the car hood. He pulled his hand back, tearing the engine from its base. Even thieves from a small place as Emerald City recognized the Team Chaotix. They dropped their stolen goods and made a run for it. Charmy grinned mischievously as he pointed his stinger to one of the runners. A moment later, the criminal was sent flying with his hands on his rear from where Charmy stung him. Vector caught him as he dropped back down to Earth.

"Nice job, Charmy." Vector complimented. It was a moment later that he realized something was missing. "Hey, where'd the other guy go?"

"Espio's disappeared, too." Charmy noted.

While Charmy and Vector took care of his partner, the other criminal dashed around the corner of the block. He only stuck around long enough to watch his former partner get captured by Team Chaotix.

"I feel bad for him." The criminal said. "But I'm getting thrown in the slammer for him."

"Not a very honorable friend, are you?" The criminal turned wildly and found Espio with a kunai pointed between his eyes. "Maybe you'll have time to think it over later."

"Please, don't kill me." The thief begged.

"I would never do such a thing." Espio stated in surprise.

"_Or would you?_"

All of sudden, the jewel on the Eye of Malefor gave off a devilish glow. Espio could feel a new sensation flowing through his veins...and he liked it. His eyes became red and slitted, his scales became darker, and his horn became sharper and grey. He stared down at the thief, who was shaking from Espio's sudden change. An evil grin formed around his face to match his new persona. In one ravage swing, the dark chameleon cut his kunai through the man's throat. Vector and Charmy had arrived on the scene just in time to witness Espio's ruthless act of murder.

"What'd ya do that for?" Vector gaped. "That's not like you."

"What the hell would you know what I'm like?" Espio growled.

"He's scary." Charmy shuddered behind Vector. "Make him change back."

"Hey, Espio, what's with the new look?" Vector said. "Get rid of it, it doesn't really suit you."

"Forget it." Espio sniggered "After seven thousand years, there is no way I'm going back in that cursed stone."

"Huh?" Charmy stared.

"Think he got conked in the head?" Vector whispered.

Espio unexpectedly performed a series of hand signs that Vector and Charmy recognized from their trip to Espio's village. The dark chameleon took in a deep breath and coughed out a large fireball. Vector stood there like an idiot, but Charmy shockingly took action. He grabbed Vector by the tail and, much to Espio's surprise, lifted Vector a few inches above the fireball. Charmy set the croc down, panting, after the fireball had passed. Espio smirked, prepping up for another jutsu, when the air was filled with sirens. With a robbery in progress, it was obvious that the police would get involved.

"Looks like our little play session will have to continue some other time." Espio smirked. "Farewell."

In a cloud of smoke, Espio vanished without a trace.

"Espio, wait!" Charmy cried.

"What's gotten into that guy?" Vector shrugged.

At that moment, an annoying buzzing sound came into play. Vector whacked Charmy over the head for no apparent reason. It was only when the buzzing didn't stop that Vector realized that it wasn't coming from Charmy. The green crocodile reached behind his back and opened the Sonic Heroes communicator. Tails was on the other side of the line.

"Vector, I've been trying to reach you all day." Tails stated. "What have you been all day?"

"Things have been a little weird over here." Vector said uncomfortably.

"What's up?!" Charmy cut in.

"There's something I found on the Eye of Malefor that you might want to hear." Tails said. "There is a legend that dates back seven thousand years. Apparently, the Eye was a real eye to an evil dragon named Malefor."

"Dragons..." Charmy said eagerly. "Cool!"

"This was an _evil_ dragon, Charmy!" Tails shouted over the communicator. "Anyway, he nearly conquered the world when another dragon stopped him for good. Before he died, he swore that he would return. According to legend, anyone who puts on the Eye will be controlled by the spirit of this evil dragon. But that's only a legend, right?"

"I don't know, kid." Vector said. "The Espio we just saw now didn't act anything like the one we know."

"Then I guess the legend is true." Tails mumbled over the communicator.

"What do we do?!" Charmy screamed; he started attracting a crowd.

"There's got to be a way to stop him." Vector said, pulling Charmy away from the drawing crowd.

"There is one, but it's not easy." Tails explained. "The only way to break someone of being cursed is to destroy the Eye of Malefor itself."

"We're doomed!" Charmy cried. "We'll never see Espio again and I'll never get my gummy candy again!"

"Charmy, calm – You get gummy candy!" Vector roared. "Espio said he didn't have anymore! Oh, when I get my hands on him I'll...!"

"I think we're getting a little off track." Tails said over the communicator.

"Right, back to the problem." Vector nodded. The crocodile scratched his head, trying to think of a new plan. I'll bet you anything he lost several brain cells from the strain. Suddenly, he had something. "Hey, I got an idea!"

"No, seriously." Tails and Charmy said skeptically.

"Everyone's a critic." Vector mumbled.

* * *

Though Vector said he had a plan, Charmy didn't seem so sure without Espio to supervise. But the main part of the plan was actually finding the corrupted chameleon. But that was actually the easy part. Unlike Tomo, Malefor wasn't one to hide his evil deeds. All Vector and Charmy had to do was follow the trail of deaths all around town. The trail somehow separated the duo and Vector was wondering aimlessly around the forest outside the city. It was dusk and the trail of blood left behind ended in the middle of an open field.

"All right, Espio, come out!" Vector shouted. "I know you're here!"

But the only sound that came was a small breeze passing through the tree leaves. But suddenly, the breeze kicked up to a rabid gust, nearly knocking Vector off his feet. When the wind died down, Espio was found standing across from the green croc.

"I didn't think you would come." Espio sniggered. "That's good. It only makes things that much easier for me."

"Come off it!" Vector snapped. "I don't know what you did to Espio, but your going down, Malbery."

The corrupted chameleon facefaulted.

"It's Malefor, you brainless twit!" Malefor snapped, pushing himself back to his feet. "Geez, Espio was right about you from the beginning."

"What are you talking about?" Vector growled.

"If you live, I might be persuaded to tell you." Malefor grinned.

"Bring it on!" Vector challenged.

Espio leapt forward and took a swing at Vector with his foot. But the giant crocodile easily blocked it with his forearm. That was the major flaw in Malefor's control. The former dragon was used to have supreme strength and could not recognize that, in his current body, Vector was clearly stronger. Vector grabbed Malefor by the ankle and tossed him towards the nearest tree. The measure of strength Vector used caused Malefor to fly not through one, but five tree trunks. There was a deafening boom that could be heard all the way back to Emerald City. Vector scratched his head with an uncertain look.

"Uh...I think I killed him." Vector muttered. "Oh boy, I'm gonna get an earful from Espio's mother."

"Wind Style: Air Bullet Jutsu!"

All of a sudden, three orbs of wind erupted from the spot where Malefor crashed and collided with Vector. The first hit him in the snout, the second hit him in the chest, and the last hit him where no man wants to be hit. Vector cried in a high-pitched tone before falling backwards. Vector barely had time to regain his composure as Malefor jumped high into the air and drew a shuriken from Espio's compartment. Unfortunately for him, dragons have terrible aim with weapons and missed by a mile wide. Espio landed as Vector stood back up.

"Cursed thing!" Malefor roared. "How does one work with such a complicated contraption!"

"And you call me the brainless twit." Vector chuckled.

"Laugh while you can." Malefor growled, starting to form a pattern of hand signs with Espio's body. "But this is where our battle ends. Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

If there was anything a dragon specialized at, it was fire. Malefor, using Espio's body, took in a deep breath and blew out a massive fireball twice the size Tomo could ever perform. That's really saying something since she mastered all five elements. It was too big to dodge, so Vector searched deep down inside himself and found the fire within. He ended up regurgitating back out of his mouth. The two flaming attacks collided, radiating their heat to the nearby surroundings. Water dried up, plant life wilted, and the two combatants were sweating bullets. The two flames continued to push against each other until they suddenly exploded down the middle. The blast sent Vector and Malefor rocketing away from each other.

"Ugh, that hurt." Vector groaned.

You filthy reptile!" Vector sat up to find Malefor standing over him. "I have had enough of you! Once I put you out of your misery, you will burden the both of us no more!"

"What do you mean 'the both of us'?" Vector asked.

"Since it will soon be over, I guess you deserve to know." Malefor said, like any idiotic villain. Vector looked out of the corner of his eye and saw something yellow. "You see, I may control this creature's mind, but I can't control his anger and frustration towards you."

"Ok, now you lost me." Vector said. "Why would Espio be angry at me?"

"The creature you call 'Espio' has served you loyally for three years." Malefor explained. "When he first joined your clan, he looked to you as a leader. But the more he began to know you, the more he began to realize his mistake for joining. Espio would have left ages if he had not been worried for the young one's safety."

"But, Espio always said..." Vector said slowly.

"This creature is tired of you, filth." Malefor continued. "He is tired of correcting your failures and fighting all your battles." He began forming another series of hand signs. "And so it ends. Any last words before you perish?"

"Just a few." Vector smirked. "Charmy! Now!"

"Cannonball!"

In an unexpected turn of events, Charmy jumped out of the remains of the hollow trees and jumped on Malefor. The hyperactive bee clutched his hands over the corrupted chameleon's eyes, blinding him.

"Unhand me, you wretched insect!" Malefor roared, trying to snatch the bee off.

"You didn't say please." Charmy said playfully.

"Keep a hold, Charmy!" Vector instructed. "Now's my turn!"

While Malefor flailed Espio's arms around, Vector snapped his jaw onto one of them, directly over the Eye of Malefor. Since the crocodile's jaws were one of the strongest limbs, the dark jewel stood no chance and shattered. Vector and Charmy were blown away when a sudden wave of darkness erupted around Espio's body. The darkness took the form of a dragon momentarily before vanishing from existence. Now free of the dragon's curse, Espio collapsed to the ground. Vector and Charmy moved in closer, still worried if Espio was still under control.

"You think he's ok?" Charmy asked worriedly.

"He should be." Vector said. He grasped the Eye of Malefor and shattered its remains. "There, now no one can use our buddy again."

"What do we do now?" Charmy asked.

"Take Espio back to the base." Vector instructed. "If Kumori's still up, she should be able to patch him right up."

"Yes, sir!" Charmy saluted.

The young bee, with some effort, placed Espio's arm over his shoulder and dragged him away. As he watched his two friends leave, Vector began to think over Malefor's words. Is that really how Espio felt about him? The green croc did have to admit that he made a lot of mistakes in the past. It was usually Espio who cleaned them up. There were many fights that Vector was incapable of winning, but Espio always saved them. The more he began to think about it, the more he found Malefor to be right. But despite all this, Espio never spoke a word against him. He was a real friend.

"I guess I don't really have much to worry about him." Vector said to himself. "Who knows, maybe I'll end up calling him boss one day."

Vector smiled at himself and followed his friends out of the chared remains of the forest. But unknown to them, a cloud of darkness hid behind the trees, watching them leaving with its bloody red eyes.

* * *

**A true friend is loyal to the end. Will Vector one day step down and make Espio leader? Is this truly the last time we've seen the evil dragon? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	53. Black Thunder

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Chapter Fifty-Three: Black Thunder

The scene opens up in the Egg-Carrier III, which now hovered over the Antarctic Ocean. Eggman was in the control room, in higher spirits since he found his son. Mecha was monitoring the emerald radar for any signs of the Chaos Emeralds. They were still unaware of the Sol Emeralds. Violet was reading her book and the Metal Squadron was doing random things. Just then, Rai walked in. Having been here only a week, Rai was used to the abnormalities that went on in the ship.

"Hey, dad." Rai said to Eggman. "The elephant at the circus called, he wants his butt back."

The crewmate, with the exception of Mecha, laughed loudly at Rai's newest material. Eggman was fumed. Ever since Rai enter back into his life, he has been bombarded with fat jokes from the flame-haired teen.

"Rai, must you make jokes of my weight?" Eggman sighed.

"Uh...yeah, pretty much." Rai chuckled

Eggman groaned and turned back to the controls while the receiving another round of laughs. But the joyous occasion was quickly interrupted by a loud argument outside the room. There were only three people who weren't present in the room. It couldn't be Bokkun, since he's currently locked in a dark closet. The answer was made obvious when Metal Sonic and Metal Amy trudged into the room, the latter hanging onto the formers shoulder blade.

"Come on, Metal!" Metal Amy pleaded. "Just one! I promise it won't shut you down."

"For the last time, I said no!" Metal growled.

"What's with them?" Rai asked, being the newest.

"The Metal Squadron was made from the same DNA as the heroes." Violet explained in a bored manner, flipping to the next page. "As such, Metal Amy is in love with Metal Sonic, same as the real Amy."

"That explains so much." Rai shrugged

"Metal, I just don't get it." Metal Amy pouted, despite not having a mouth. "Why don't you want to go out with me?"

"You want to know why?" Metal said malevolently. "I'll tell you why."

"Uh oh." Metal Knuckles said. "Here's trouble."

"It's because I have better things to do than waste away with you!" Metal roared. "I was crated for the sole purpose of conquering this planet! I admit that I have made mistakes in the past, but creating you was by far the greatest mistake I ever made!"

From that point, everyone remained silent. Even Violet closed her book quietly and waited for Metal Amy's reaction. Many would have expected her to act like her original self and whack Metal across the head with her hammer. But to their surprise, Metal Amy merely hung her head and walked out of the room. At first, Metal felt satisfied with himself, but then slowly started to feel something in his chest. Was he feeling guilt? He turned his attention to the rest of the crew, who were all glaring at him.

"What?" Metal questioned.

"That was cold, Metal." Metal Espio stated.

"I'm a machine." Metal stated. "I'm supposed to be cold."

"But you're only half machine." Jet said. "Metal Amy's only annoying you because she cares."

"I am your leader and creator." Metal said "I do not need to listen to you."

"Then perhaps you'll listen to me." Mecha said, stepping up to his opposite. "Listen, I do not care much for what happens to you or your little troupe, but even I must admit that you have gone too far. Now you have two choices: Either apologize or..." He holds up his claw, performing a black version of the Metal Surge. "I will irradiate you."

Metal didn't feeling threatened by Mecha's statement, knowing he was stronger and knew Mecha's weak point. But the looks he received from the others were a little more intimidating. He new he could defeat most of them, since he created practically the whole group. But he had no idea what abilities Rai had and Violet was another anomaly.

"Very well." Metal sighed. He pulled out the blue Chaos Emerald, which he hid inside his chest. "CHAOS CONTROL!"

At those worlds, Metal disappeared in a flash of light.

* * *

The scene alters to the dimension of the Dark Rulers castle. Nazo was sitting at his throne, his arm halfway regenerated, With Shira, Mephiles, and Black Doom gathered around the board. Shira was nursing Nazo's wound after Mephiles had provided the chaos needed to heal it. The group was watching the board as Metal Amy's and Metal Sonic's pieces moved across it.

"Looks like our target is on the move." Mephiles stated.

"And he's alone with the exception of the one robot." Shira added. "We could take this opportunity to get back Lord Nazo's memories."

"That's just what I was think, Shira." Nazo smirked. "I have also sensed that he carries a Chaos Emerald in hand. It will be like killing two birds with one stone."

"I shall capture him immediately." Mephiles bowed.

"No, not you, Mephiles." Nazo grimaced. "If anything, it will be Black Doom who will retrieve them."

"And may I ask why?" Black Doom questioned suspiciously.

"Everyone amongst the Dark Rulers has proven their loyalty to me." Nazo said seriously. "But you seem hesitant at following orders and try to take command yourself. I want to see where your loyalty lies."

"My loyalty is eternally yours...Lord Nazo." Black Doom said slowly.

"Then you won't have any trouble retrieving the Emerald and my memories." Nazo said.

"I will leave at once." Black Doom said. "As soon as I gather my army."

"You won't be using your men." Nazo stated. "I would rather you were watch my Mephiles' creatures. That won't be a problem, will it?"

"No." Black Doom said lowly. "None what so ever."

* * *

The scene alternates to the endless breeze of Windy Valley. How it got its name was obvious due to the never-ending gusts of winds and various tornadoes surrounding the place. The windmills throughout the valley were what supplied more than half of the world's power. It was here that Metal felt the presence of Metal Amy, since she was no longer on the Egg-Carrier III.

"That stupid girl." Metal muttered. "Why the hell would she run here? Why do I even care? It would be better off if I just felt her here."

Metal seemed to think this was a better idea and turned to walk away. But as soon a he took three steps, his legs suddenly stopped. That same feeling in his chest returned, this time presented with a different feeling. It was...cold.

"_Why am I feeling this way?_" Metal thought. "_I can't possibly have any regrets. I am a cold machine! I have no feelings or concerns for others!_" He kept telling himself this, but another thought entered his mind. "_But she isn't like the others. She is sometimes annoying and bothersome, but a lot of time's she loyal and helpful. Maybe I..._"

But before he could finish his though, a purple beam shot from nowhere and exploded at the mechs feet. Metal was sharp enough to see the attack coming and flipped out of the way before the beam hit. When the dust cloud cleared, Black Doom could be found floating over a hill with a pair of dark tigers and a pair of dark birds.

"So, we finally meet, Metal Sonic." Black Doom greeted evilly.

"My scanners and memory banks indicate that you are Black Doom." Metal started. His blaring red eyes roamed over the creatures surrounding him. "They also indicate that those are the beast created by Mephiles the Dark."

"So you've heard of Mephiles and I." Black Doom chuckled.

"It's hard to forget how you tried to suck the life of this world." Metal said. "I would remember Mephiles. He is half of the Solaris Project, the same program that allowed me to take this Neo Form."

"That is quite interesting, but I am getting bored." Black Doom stated, holding out his black hand. "Surrender the Chaos Emerald and I promise to let you go unharmed."

"You aren't known for your charity." Metal replied.

"How true." Black Doom said sinisterly. "Very well, I shall take that Emerald by force!"

Black Doom waved his hand, commanding the dark creatures to attack. The creatures were hesitant for a moment, not used to following orders from someone other than their creator, but trudge ahead anyway. The dark tiger snarled and leapt at the master mech. But Metal easily flipped over them, grasping them by their heads. Metal released a wave of electrical energy from his claws, reducing the beasts to black ooze. The mechanical warrior was still in midair by the time the dark bird swooped in. They swerved past Metal, intending to attack him from the back.

"How pathetic." Metal commented amusingly. He flipped backwards in midair and grasped the birds by their necks. He snapped them in half before he even touched the ground. "Now where is the horrendous creature?"

"Now that wasn't very nice." Black Doom's voice echoed.

Before he could get a visual on the alien overlord, Metal found himself being grasped by his neck and slammed hard into the ground. Black Doom had discarded his old body and was presenting his newest form. He looked similar to Howl the Wolf, only his fur was black, he had giant bat wings, and three red eyes. Black Doom's newest body wore his traditional robe and jewels. Most of the heroes new about Doom's Eye being Black Doom's true body, but Metal was unaware.

"Who are you?" Metal questioned.

"Now that hurts." Black Doom said amusingly, lifting the mech off the ground. "It is I, Black Doom!"

Black Doom swung his new legs at the mechs torso, but Metal blocked it with his forearm. Metal kicked off of Black Doom's chest and pushed himself free from the overlord's grip. He flipped backwards and skidded to a halt a few yards across from him.

"So you posses the ability to change you body." Metal said with intrigue.

"I didn't think of the idea at first." Black Doom stated. "But when I discovered a man called Pein, who could also perform this ability, I decided to follow in his footsteps. He even offered me a great deal on a set of bodies to choose from."

"One or a thousand, your fate will remain the same." Metal said, drawing electricity into his body. "A one way trip to oblivion!"

Metal shot off the ground at a speed that would rival Sonic's. But having experience against fighting Shadow, Metal ran at a normal pace in Doom's three eyes. The alien overlord flapped his massive wings and took off to the sky before Metal could reach him. But that was a crucial mistake on Doom's part. In a high wind area like Windy Valley, not even the most experience flyer could maneuver properly. Black Doom found himself being pushed back and forth between the heavy trails of winds until he felt something could grasp his ankle. Metal Sonic jumped up at an impossible height and captured the alien overlord. Metal brought both of them down and slammed Black Doom face first into the ground.

"You won't be needing these." Metal stated.

In one swift tug, Metal ripped both of the wings straight off of Black Doom's back.

"Damn you!" Black Doom hissed.

"Aw, don't be mad." Metal said mockingly. "I find the sounds of your screams very pleasurable."

If you like screams," Black Doom smirked. "Then you'll certainly enjoy this."

Metal had no idea what he was talking about. Unfortunately, he found out the hard way when Black Doom twirled around to face him. The moment Black Doom's mouth opened, a high-pitched wailing erupted itself from his throat. The wail created a powerful force that pushed aside the wind and even the tornadoes. Metal tried to stand his ground, but his circuits were exploding from the sound and lost all connections to his electrical nerves. Metal was catapulted across the field and crashed into the side of a windmill, toppling the structure over. From the wreckage, Metal was strewed across the ground. He could see Black Doom walking up to him slowly and tried to move, but all of his circuits were shut down except the ones in his head.

"It's sad, really." Black Doom said, crouching down to the poor mech. "To think, this all could have been avoided if you had just surrendered the Chaos Emerald."

"Go to hell!" Metal growled.

"I've already been." Black Doom chuckled. "I don't particularly like but it, but I believe you would enjoy it. Farewell."

Black Doom held over his hand and hung it over Metal's head. He looked ready to grind the mech into dust until something red blurred up to him. He was knocked back over the hill, but quickly stumbled back to his feet to see his attacker. Metal Amy was back and wielding her Metal Hammer, a metallic version of the Piko-Piko Hammer.

"Metal Amy." Metal groaned, attempting to force himself up."

"Don't move!" Metal Amy said sternly. "Your servos are shot. If you try to move, you'll be shut down permanently." Metal looked back with a sort of enthusiastic look upon her mechanical features. "Don't worry, I won't let him touch you."

"But I don't understand." Metal said confused. "After what I said to you, you still defend me?"

"Oh, Metal." Metal Amy shook her head. "No matter how much you hate me, that will never stop me from loving you."

Metal could only stare at Metal Amy's reply. What kind of answer was that? Maybe he put a little too much of Amy's personality. But for some odd reason, he felt a happier than he's ever been. The cold feeling in his chest suddenly felt...warm.

"You'll pay for that, you mechanical rat!" Black Doom growled.

"Bring it on, mutt!" Metal Amy challenged.

She lucky Howl wasn't here to hear that. As the two raced at one another, Metal Sonic saw a major difference in their levels of power. The only thing on Metal Amy's side was the element of surprise. Now that she lost it, there was no way she could stand up against the alien overlord. Metal could only watch as his female opposite was being thrashed and thrown across the field. Black Doom knocked away Metal Amy's hammer and unleashed a barrage of claw marks all over her body. Metal Amy tried to retaliate, but she found herself with her arm being ripped off.

"Please stop." Metal pleaded softly.

But Black Doom was not known for showing mercy. After was seems like hours of claws, Metal Amy was lifted up to the air by her neck. Besides her missing arm, she was covered in claw marks, wires were sticking out at random places, and her left eye was shut off. Black Doom smiled in a malicious way as he pulled back his arm.

"Prepare for eternal sleep."

He drove his hand forward and shredded it straight through Metal Amy's chest. Something in Metal Sonic's mind suddenly snapped. All of a sudden, all his anger and rage reserved for Sonic had broken loose. Black Doom pulled back his arm and pleasantly watched as Metal Amy's body dropped dully onto the grass.

"Metal..." Metal Amy said weakly before shutting down.

"That does it!" Metal roared.

He didn't know how, but Metal somehow found the strength to stand again. His answer came to him when he realized his once thought dead heart was beating again. His organic half was taking over. He drew a vast amount of electricity into his claws, but it was much different than from his metallic half. The electricity was bright blue and he was able to hold it in both claws.

"What is this?!" Black Doom shouted in fear.

"You have pushed me one too many times, Black Doom!" Metal yelled. "Now you will pay the price! METAL SHOT!"

Metal Sonic thrust his claws forward and unleashed a barrage of electrical bolt. Black Doom finally regained control of his nerves and opened his mouth to release another booming howl. But the high-pitched sound stood no match for the raging lightning. With the howl pushed aside, Black Doom was made an easy target. Black Doom didn't even have a chance to blink when the multiple numbers of bolts cut through his entire body. Metal lowered his arms, disabling the barrage of lightning that struck his enemy. But, surprisingly, even after all that, Black Doom still found the strength to stand up.

"Hahaha." Black Doom cackled. "Was that really your best shot! I must say, I am disappointed!"

"But that wasn't my shot." Metal stated, pointing his claw to the sky. "That is."

Black Doom's three eyes followed Metal's hand towards the sky. He was baffled to find a torrent of raging thunder clouds starting to appear over them from out of nowhere.

"What is the meaning of this?" Black Doom questioned.

"That attack wasn't meant to kill you." Metal explained. "I merely used it as a distraction while my energy heated the air and produced thunder clouds. Adding a bit of chaos, the lightning it produces is under my control." He opened him palm and held it to the clouds. "I was planning to save this for Sonic, but you'll do just fine. METAL BLACKOUT!"

Metal thrust his hand downwards, commanding the lightning above to attack. The clouds produced a massive of bolt of blue lightning in the same of a dragon's head. Nothing could move faster than light and Black Doom was no exception. The single bolt struck down with tremendous force, sending the windmills and tornadoes scattering. Metal closed his claw, ending the lightning on his command. The clouds disappeared, enveloping the area in a ray of warm sunshine. All that remained of the attack was a sixty foot crater and the charred remains of Black Doom's body.

"And so ends the legacy of Black Doom." Metal stated.

"Is it?"

Metal was caught off guard by the voice and shot swiftly around. He found Black Doom, in his original body, floating not far from him.

"But how?" Metal questioned.

"Just before your attack, I separated myself from that body." Black Doom explained. "I always make sure to keep a spare lying around."

"And I'll have no trouble destroying this one." Metal said, moving to a fighting position.

"I don't think you'll be destroying anything." Black Doom said. Out of nowhere, Black Doom produces Metal Amy's body and holds her in the air by her head. "Not unless you wish to lose this girl forever."

"No! Wait!" Metal exclaimed. Black Doom looked pleased as the blue mech kneeled down to him. "Don't harm her. I'll do whatever you wish of me."

"The Chaos Emerald." Black Doom said simply.

Metal was hesitant at first, but one look at Metal, his mind was made up. He opened up his chest and ripped out the blue Chaos Emerald connected to his circuits. He slowly got up off the ground and walked over to the alien overlord, not taking his eyes off Metal Amy. Once the Emerald was in his hand, Black Doom tossed Metal Amy into Metal's open arms.

"It's been a pleasure doing business with you." Black Doom laughed before using Chaos Control.

"Well, there goes our ride." Metal said. He hung his head and adjusted Metal Amy comfortably in his arms. "This will be a long run."

Once making sure Metal Amy was secure, Metal Sonic broke out in a mad dash. The mechanical being figured it would be rather difficult to trek across the ocean, but he would figure a way when the time came. But what he was more interested about was his improved powers. He had been practicing the Metal Blackout endlessly, but it never worked until now. All his electrical nerves were still cut off, but he was surprised to find himself must stronger and faster than ever before.

"_All this time, I had planned to rule an empire of machines._" Metal thought. "_But now, I am beginning to wonder if ridding the world of organic life is right. This feeling of being alive is so wonderful. Is this how Sonic feels?_" His red eyes gazed deeply at the pink mech in his arms. "_All my existence, I have always felt cold; like a void was always there. But then you came in and filled that void. Because of you, I am stronger. Metal Amy...thank you."_

With one last look, Metal Sonic and his companion departed into the setting sun.

* * *

The scene returns to the Dark Rulers castle. Black Doom had just returned from his mission and held out the blue Chaos Emerald to Nazo; Shira was somewhere with Mephiles. But the God of Darkness did not seem satisfied.

"That's it?" Nazo questioned irritably. "All you bring back is a single Chaos Emerald?"

"That's what you wished me to do." Black Doom stated.

"I specifically told you to capture Metal Sonic and bring him to me!" Nazo growled, banging his one hand on his throne. "Incase you have forgotten, Metal still has my memories! We need those if we intend to win this war!"

"I am sorry, my lord." Black Doom seethed.

"But still, you did bring the Emerald." Nazo said kindly. "I guess I shall forgive you for now."

Nazo stepped down from his thrown to take the Chaos Emerald from Black Doom. But before he could even get within an inch of it, Black Doom suddenly swung his arm at his master.

"SWIFT STRIKE!" Black Doom yelled.

All of a sudden, a purple disk crashed into Nazo's face. It didn't hurt the God of Darkness, but it did leave him temporarily blinded. When he regained his senses, Black Doom was already gone; most likely from using Chaos Control. After hearing the noise, Mephiles and Shira staggered into the throne chamber.

"Lord Nazo, what happened?" Mephiles asked.

"Are you hurt?" Shira asked in genuine concern.

"It's nothing." Nazo spat. "Black Doom betrayed us as I predicted. He took the Chaos Emerald and..."

A terrible thought suddenly appeared in Nazo's head. Before Mephiles or Shira had a chance to speak, Nazo eroded into the floor. The God of Darkness reappeared in the chamber where they stored the Chaos and Sol Emeralds. But when he arrived, all three Chaos Emeralds and three Sol Emeralds were gone.

"BLACK DOOM!!" Nazo roared.

He received no reply; only imagining Black Doom's cackling laughter.

* * *

**Betrayal is set and a new war begins. What does Black Doom have planned? Will Nazo recieve is revenge? Will the heroes be able to handle another enemy? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**

* * *

**Hey, everybody! Babylon Sky Hawk here! I got the idea to bring a crossover villian into the next chapter and I want you to decided. You will find your choices below.**

**A) Ganondorf - Legend of Zelda  
B) Sephiroth - Final Fantasy  
C) Pein - Naruto  
D) Xehanort - Kingdom Heart  
E) Makuta - Bionicle**

**VOTE NOW!!**


	54. Eternal Sleep

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Chapter Fifty-Four: Eternal Sleep

The scene opens to the Pacific Ocean around a small island near Japan. Out in the water closing into the island was a large ship holding a group of the most unlikely heroes: Gale's crew. Currently, each member was doing their own thing to preoccupy them. Gale was directing the ship, Wrist was in charge of navigation, Mach was repairing the outside of the ship from their last venture, Vanilla was trying to regain her old fighting form, and Accel was lounging around on the deck. But up in the bow, Thorn Rose was keeping a steady eye on the island ahead.

"Are you sure she's there!" Wrist yelled.

"For the last time, yes!" Thorn replied irritably. "My tracker spell has never been wrong. I know Kyira is on that island."

"Tell me again," Mach said, pulling himself back onto the ship. "Why exactly are we looking for the daughter of a demon?"

"And the Nine-tailed fox demon at that." Accel added.

"Hey, she's helped us out in the past." Gale stated.

"Was that before or after she tried to eat us?" Vanilla questioned sarcastically.

"Ok, so she has her faults." Gale admitted sheepishly. "But if we're going to defeat Naga, we're going to need all the help we can get."

The crew thought this over and figured Gale was right, but despite that, they weren't at all convinced. The crew weighed anchor near the beach of the island and cast off. The entire island was covered in one vast jungle that stretched from one side to the other.

"This place is huge!" Accel exclaimed.

"How are we ever going to find Kyira in all this?" Vanilla asked.

"My tracking spell is still in effect." Thorn explained. "Just follow me and we'll find her within the hour."

"I still don't trust magic." Wrist said.

"Deal with it." Thorn replied.

Thorn closed his eyes momentarily and then reopened them; his eyes bright red. It took several seconds for the hedgehog sorcerer to locate his target, but he eventually found her. With his eyes set, he Thorn led the pirate crew into the jungle. But getting through the jungle was a another story. The journey started out simple until they were ambushed by a pack of jaguars. Wrist used his super strength to fling them away and Vanilla used good old fashioned martial arts to kick them back.

"Anything else you want to feed us to?" Wrist said angrily.

"It wasn't his fault." Mach said reasonably. "He didn't know about those creatures."

"I don't need you to defend me, Mach." Thorn glared. "And just so you know, Kyira is close by."

"Where is she?" Gale questioned.

"She is just a half mile north of here." Thorn stated.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Gale said cheerfully. "The sooner we find her, the sooner I can get back to my rum."

"You know, drinking is not very good parenting." Vanilla said sternly.

"Neither is being a dangerous pirate." Accel commented.

Vanilla shook her head and followed the band of men into the jungle. After trekking through sever swamps, creeping trees, and winding bogs, the pirate crew came to a clearing in the middle of the island. There were small remains of a campfire and several branches form into a tent, but there was no sign of life with the whole area.

"These embers are fresh." Vanilla stated; examining the campfire remains. "She couldn't have left for a few minutes."

"No, my spell says she's here somewhere." Thorn said sternly.

"I knew it." Wrist smirked. "All that magic mumbo-jumbo has finally gone to your head."

"Shut it!" Thorn growled irritably. "If you think you can do a better..."

"Hey, did you guys hear that?" Accel interrupted.

"Hear what?" Mach asked.

"I don't know." Accel said shiftily. "It sounds like something's moving in the trees."

The group remained silence, waiting to hear for the noises the adult hawk stated. But after two minutes of silence, the only thing that could be heard was the wind brushing through the trees.

"I don't hear anything." Gale said. "Maybe you..."

Suddenly, something orange flashed through the group, knocking them to the ground. The six pirates jumped back to their feet and faced the creature that passed them. It was a female fox with, surprisingly, nine wild tails. Her fur was bright orange, which only matched her blood-red eyes. She wore white silk pants, a white sleeveless shirt, and a blue sash around her waist. The demonic female was crouched low to the ground, looking poise to strike.

"See, I told you!" Thorn shouted victoriously. "I knew my spell wasn't wrong."

"Great, now do you have a spell that stops us from getting eaten?!" Mach exclaimed.

The demon fox blurred passed the group with blinding speed, swiping at the crew in the process. Vanilla and Accel jumped away without a scratch, but the other four were thrown back into the trees. A coconut landed on Wrist's head and knocked him out.

"You don't see that every day." Gale commented.

Thorn flipped back up to his feet and shot a large ball of ice from his palm. The air around the demon was so thick, the ice melted before it could reach her. The fox demon growled at Thorn, but was unable to do anything when the wind suddenly kicked up. Accel had his own version of fans and swiped them across the air, creating a miniature tornado. The tornado picked the demon fox up off the ground, sending her flying into the trees. The demon recovered quickly, more angered than ever. She made a quick dash for Accel, but Gale jumped out of nowhere and whipped his foot to the side of her face. While she was down, Mach threw a small metal ball, which released a steel net from its contents. The female demon snarled, trying to break free. Suddenly, Vanilla calmly walked up to her and slapped her across the face.

"Ow!" The female screamed. "Damn, Vanilla! Why do you have to hit so hard!?"

"Don't give me that!" Vanilla said sternly. "You nearly scared us half to death, Kyira!"

"Hey, I was just having a little fun." Kyira pouted, trying to break from the net. "Now get me out of here. It's getting kinda cramped."

Mach pressed a button from the control he was holding and released the demon fox from the net. The fight took their attention away from the time and realized it was already night time. Kyira walked back to the campfire and relit it with a quick flame she whipped from her tail. Gale's crew joined their old friend and sat around the campfire.

"So what are you doing here?" Kyira questioned, throwing a stick of meat on the fire. "It's no mere coincidence that all seven of us are gathered together in one place. We haven't been together since the birth of Gale's first son."

"I'm gathering the old to take down an old enemy." Gale informed.

"Don't tell me Davy Jones is back again." Kyira sighed.

"Worse." Gale said seriously. "It's Naga."

"The snake scientist?" Kyira frowned. "You can't seem to kill anyone properly. So, what does this have to do with me?"

"We just heard that Naga has gained a new army." Mach explained seriously. "We don't know who they are or what they do, but we know they're very powerful. I we want a chance to kill that filthy snake, we need all the help we can get."

"Please, Kyira." Vanilla pleaded. "We can't do this without you."

"On normal circumstances, I would agree immediately." Kyira said, staring into the fire. "But as of now, I have to decline."

"But why?" Accel asked.

"Being the daughter of the great demon, Kyuubi no Kitsune, I'm not exactly liked." Kyira explained. "No matter how much good I try to do, the people will see me as nothing but a monster." She clenched her fist and bared her teeth. "To make matters worse, they murdered my husband and son. So whatever happens to the world is no concern of mine."

"But they only found your husband's body." Thorn stated. "So there is a chance your son might still be alive. I could use the tracking spell and..."

"And wind up lost in the Sahara Desert?" Wrist interrupted rudely. "I think we'd have a better chance with a blind badger."

"I've had just enough of your mouth!" Thorn shouted, jumping to his feet. "If you have a problem with my magic, then why don't I just save you the trouble?! I'm out of here!"

"Thorn!" Vanilla called, but he was gone. "Nice going, Wrist."

"What?" Wrist shrugged. "It's not my fault he's a freak. Just let him cool off; he'll be back in a few minutes."

"You know, this is not a good example of teamwork." Mach stated. "Since we are going to be working together, he ought to learn how to handle team situations like..."

Mach was more like his daughter than anyone thought. The adult swallow continued his speech, unaware that everyone had already tuned him out. Within five minutes, Mach put everyone to sleep. Out in a different part of the jungle, Thorn was storming through the thick trees to reach a large cliffside. Thorn stood at the edge, looking out to sea; the wind flowing through his quills and cloak.

"That echidna urchin thinks he's better than me." Thorn grumbled. "What I wouldn't give to wipe that smirk off his face."

"How far would you be willing to push yourself?" A mysterious voice called.

"Who's there?!" Thorn questioned, turning to the trees. "Show yourself!"

"If wish to achieve a higher understanding, you must be willing to open up." The voice continued. "Open your mind and your heart."

Thorn gathered a fire spell and threw it into the trees. Suddenly, the fireball was thrown backwards and the flames turned an eerie shade of black. The last thing Thorn remembered was the burning sensation in his chest.

* * *

Morning arrived in a few hours with Gale and his crew awake to greet it. Gale's original plan was to continue convincing Kyira to join them, but then he noticed something was missing. Thorn had still not returned. Their current mission was to find the hedgehog sorcerer and continue with their original plan. They had Kyira lead the way since she's the only one who knows her way around the island. But after two hours of looking, the pirate crew came up with nothing.

"Where is he?" Gale asked worried. "It's not like him to venture off like this."

"Why doesn't he just use his little hocus-pocus to find his way back?" Wrist grumbled.

"Stop it, Wrist!" Vanilla said sternly. "It's because of your insensitivity that Thorn went off in the first place."

"I am not insensitive." Wrist defended.

"Oh, please." Mach rolled his eyes. "You're about as sensitive as Accel is smart."

"Yeah." Accel nodded. Five seconds later, he realized what he meant. "Hey!"

"Why exactly do you need me again?" Kyira whispered to Gale.

"I need better company." Gale replied.

As they continued their trek through the jungle, they found the air becoming thicker and the temperature hotter. Vanilla was starting to lag behind, not used to this kind of intensity, and Accel offered to carry her on his back. But the emerald bird had other ideas. Realizing this, Mach kicked his leader in the shin and offered it to Vanilla instead, which she accepted. The pirate crew quickly found the source of the unusual atmosphere as they suddenly appeared in the middle of a desert.

"Is this supposed to be here?" Gale asked.

"No." Kyira shook her head. "This island is one big jungle; there shouldn't be any deserts."

"Then where did all this come from?" Accel questioned.

"How am I supposed to know?!" Kyira roared irritably.

"Forget the desert," Wrist said. "Who's that?"

Wrist pointed his hand out into the vast sands; a blurred figure was making its approach. As the figure came closer, his form became clear to the group. It was a human, an old man to be exact, with a bald head, piercing yellow eyes, pointed ears, and a small white beard. He wore a black and grey trench coat, a white shirt and gloves, black pants and boots. The old man seemed to travel across the desert sands without a problem from the atmosphere. He stopped a few yards from Gale and his crew.

"Who are you?" Vanilla asked curiously. "What is this place?"

"I am known as Master Xehanort." Xehanort stated. "And I have brought you here to this ancient battle ground."

"But why have you brought us here?" Accel asked.

"Forget him." Kyira said. "The sooner we find Thorn, the sooner you guys can leave."

"Thorn." Xehanort said thoughtfully. "He wouldn't happen to be a red hedgehog, middle-aged?"

"Yeah, how did you know?" Mach questioned suspiciously.

Master Xehanort grinned wickedly and stepped aside to reveal Thorn Rose. But something was wrong with the hedgehog sorcerer. His eyes were blank, his expression was lacking, and he was wielding a large weapon in his hand. The weapon was shaped like a sword, but with red cogs at the end and green eyes on the hilt and the teeth.

"Hey, Thorn, what are you doing here?" Mach asked. No reply. "Hey, what's up with him?"

"Aw, you not still mad, are you?" Wrist grumbled.

"Don't bother." Xehanort said. "Your voices can no longer reach him where he is."

"What do you mean?" Gale asked seriously.

"It means, Thorn's mind is possessed." Kyira growled. "I don't like the feel of this guy."

"Hey, old geezer!" Gale shouted. "Whatever you did to Thorn, you better set him straight."

"Don't worry; your friend will be restored soon enough." Xehanort stated. "Just as soon as I have a word with Gale."

"Forget it, pal!" Wrist exclaimed, holding up his tri-spiked fists. "If you want to get to our captain, you'll have to go through is first!"

"It shall be a pleasure." Xehanort said calmly.

Xehanort's cool attitude was starting to bug Wrist, so the echidna went on the attack. Without listening to his crewmates warnings, Wrist kicked off the ground his fist out in front. Xehanort remained calm in the situation and merely raised his hand to the sky. This action caused a pillar of stone to suddenly burst from the ground and slam into Wrist's jaw. While Wrist was thrown back to the rest of the crew, Master Xehanort raised his hand again, this time creating a plateau below him and Thorn.

"Now that is insane." Accel said.

"And completely illogical." Mach added.

"I don't really care much for logic." Gale said. "What I do care about is getting Thorn back from that bald freak." He turned to his crewmates. "Wrist, take Vanilla, Accel, and Mach and try to see if you can snap Thorn back to normal."

"Finally, some action." Wrist grinned eagerly.

"What about you?" Vanilla asked worried.

"Gale and I will get rid of the human." Kyira growled. "He will soon learn not to trespass on demon territory."

The six crewmates scattered into two groups. Meanwhile, Master Xehanort and the possessed Thorn were watching the small images of the pirate crew scatter and charge at them from both sides.

"Not a very organized group." Xehanort said. "But times have changed since I've been away. It's been eleven years since I've gone into battle. Time to see if I still got it." He holds out his hand to the group. "Go, my soldier."

Thorn nodded at the command and jumped from the tall cliffside. While Wrist led the frontal assault, Gale and Kyira started climbing up the backside of the plateau. The four crewmates started to climb the rocky terrain until a suddenly bolt passed by them. They looked up and found Thorn diving after them, firing several bolts of lightning from his weapon. The four pirates jumped back as Thorn came to a soft landing in front of them.

"Oh, I have been waiting to do this for a long time." Wrist grinned.

"Don't hurt him, Wrist." Vanilla pleaded.

"I think the ones we have to worry about getting hurt are us." Mach stated.

Wrist jumped ahead and flung his tri-spiked fist towards Thorn's head. The hedgehog sorcerer counteracted by raising his weapon to block the attack. Thorn pushed the echidna back and shot a blast of ice from his palm. Wrist was thrown back a few feet, his left arm completely encased in ice. Thorn raised his weapon to strike again, only to swing around and block Accel's fan from behind. Mach slide under Thorn and tripped him behind his legs. Thorn pressed his hand into the ground and flipped back to his feet before unleashing a fresh surge of lightning. Mach pulled out a small yellow ball and tossed it into the lightning, absorbing the contents.

"Hey, not bad." Accel commented.

"You always have to be prepared for anything." Mach smirked pridefully.

But in their moment of distraction, Thorn ran up to Mach and whacked him with the side of his weapon. Seeing his teammate's distress, Accel jumped into battle double fans. Accel swung both fans at once, forming a miniature tornado in his wake. Thorn stabbed his weapon into the ground, preventing himself from being blown away. When the winds finally died down, Thorn thrust his palm forward, releasing a dark fireball. Accel was hit square in the chest, sending him flying back to his teammate.

"Well, that could have gone better." Accel said hoarsely.

Thorn slowly stepped forward, his grip tightened around the handle of his weapon. But before the possessed sorcerer could take another step, Vanilla stepped out of nowhere and nailed a blinding side kick to the face. Thorn tumbled backward, but recovered himself and growled at the mature rabbit.

"I hope you can forgive me." Vanilla said kindly, raising her fists. "But I must protect my friends."

Thorn charged forward and swung his weapon around her head, but Vanilla avoided it by bending backwards. Vanilla planted her hand to the ground and shot her foot upwards, slamming it into Thorn's face. Thorn was thrown into the air, but regained his composure and released another surge of lightning from his palm. Vanilla saw this and back flipped into the air, landing on the side of the plateau. She kicked off the plateau and thrusted her fist forward, which Thorn blocked with his weapon.

"Thorn, please." Vanilla pleaded. "Snap out of it."

But there was no talk to him. Thorn pushed back vanilla and continued his battle. But up at the top of the plateau, Master Xehanort was happily watching the battle going on below. Unknown to him, Gale and Kyira managed to climb up the plateau and eyed him over the edge of the cliffside.

"Let's just take him out quickly." Kyira whispered.

"That would be stupid." Gale retorted. "We have no idea how powerful this guy is. He's obviously very strong if he is able to change the environment at his own will."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Kyira growled.

"Next time, try keeping your voices down."

Gale and Kyira shot back around and found Master Xehanort standing over them. The aged man grasped them by their heads and threw them to the center of the plateau. Kyira, being her uncontrollable self, was the first to recklessly go on the attack. Xehanort remained calm and merely swung his hand to her. All of a sudden, something cold and metallic collided with her chest and threw her backwards. Gale got to his feet and found Xehanort wielding a weapon he retrieved from nowhere. It was shaped like a sword, but had two bladed sides, a curved edge at the teeth, and a black emblem around the handle.

"What the hell is that?" Gale questioned. "And why does Thorn have one just like that?"

"I would not expect you to understand to complexities of the Keyblades." Xehanort said.

"The Keyblades?" Gale repeated.

"Yes, such marvelous and mysterious weapons." Xehanort said sadly. "The keyblade the red one wields once belong to my apprentice. At least, it did before..."

Master Xehanort remained silent in a moment of depression. But it didn't last long. Kyira came back and she was more angry than ever. She went on a rampage and started lashing out at Xehanort with all nine of her tails. But the master was much faster than he looked and blocked every attack with the keyblade. After having a moment of fun with her, Xehanort grasped one of the demon's tails and flung her to the edge. Kyira growled with a furious look in her eyes as Xehanort calmly walked up to her. He slowly started to raise his Keyblade, when Gale came around with a flying spin kick. Xehanort blocked the attack with his forearm and thrust the hedgehog backwards, sending him flying to the edge. Gale scrambled rapidly to prevent himself from flying off and succeeded.

"Damn, that was close." Gale panted.

"Now are you willing to listen?" Xehanort asked coolly.

"You can listen to my claws tearing into your flesh!" Kyira roared.

Kyira burst out again; Xehanort sighed in annoyance. Down below, the others were fair well against Thorn. The hedgehog sorcerer was beating them without even trying. But that was mostly because they were afraid of hurting their old friend. The only who didn't hold back was Wrist. The echidna warrior was unleashing everything he had, only to have it stopped by Thorn's new Keyblade. Wrist tried for another assault, but the red hedgehog dived down and flung the echidna over his head.

"What is wrong with you?!" Wrist yelled to Thorn. "Snap out of it!" Thorn paid no attention to his pleas and continued to swipe at him. Wrist managed to stop the Keyblade from cracking his head open by clasping it between his hands. "Thorn, I'm sorry for what I said. You're one of my best friends. Don't do this."

"That's all you needed to say." Suddenly, Thorn's eyes returned to normal and the Keyblade he held vanished forever. "Aw, man. I was so hoping I could keep that."

"Thorn, how did you break free from that guys spell?" Accel asked.

"I was never under Xehanort's control." Thorn stated.

"Then you were just helping him kill us!" Wrist shouted.

"He's not here to fight us." Thorn explained. "He came to give us a warning."

Back at the top of the plateau, Xehanort was making quick work of Kyira and Gale. The fox demon and pirate king tried every attack in their arsenal, but nothing seemed to get past the master's Keyblade. In their last attack, Gale used his signature spin kick and Kyira thrust herself with a wave of red chaos. Maser Xehanort blocked Gale's kick and thrust Kyira backwards with a wave of magic. Gale and Kyira were both left in a crumpled heap at the master's feet, both too tired to continue.

"Now are you willing to listen?" Xehanort asked again.

"If you're going to kill us, just make it quick." Kyira said defeated.

"But I have no desire to kill you." Xehanort stated. "I merely come here to make a request."

"What request?" Gale asked.

"As you may already know, Naga was gathered himself an army." Xehanort said. "The creatures under his control are called the Heartless. It was the Babylonians who created them, but it is my fault they were able to spread. I tried to find a way to stop them eleven years ago, but I failed. My spirit has been unable to rest, knowing the Heartless are rampaging through the universe."

"So what does that have to do with us?" Gale questioned.

"I have one simple request." Xehanort said pleadingly. "Defeat Naga and his followers; correct my mistake." Xehanort tossed something to Gale, which he caught. It was a silver leaf with golden veins. "Take this with you. When the time comes, it will provide a light to help you against the darkness."

"Thanks." Gale said awkwardly. "I think."

"I wish you the best of luck." Xehanort nodded; he turned to Kyira. "And one more thing, your son is still alive."

"M-my son?" Kyira stammered in shock. "Kyuta is alive."

"Yes." Xehanort replied. "Young Miles Prower seems to be doing well for himself."

Xehanort sighed and opened himself to the blazing sun. Suddenly, the old man exploded in a ray of light, blinding everyone in the area. When the light died down, the desert had returned to the jungle and Xehanort was nowhere to be seen. After an hour of packing and preparing, the pirate crew was ready to cast off, this time with a new member."

"So what changed your mind, Kyira?" Vanilla asked.

"That man, Xehanort, he waited eleven years for someone to save him." Kyira said thoughtfully. "He has suffered all those years. I will make it my mission to end his torment so that he may rest in peace." She turned her attention out to the sea. "And besides, my son is out there somewhere. I will find him and we will be reunited forever."

And thus, the final member of Gale's crew had returned. A pirate king, an echidna warrior, a hedgehog sorcerer, a Babylon leader, a mechanical genius, a martial arts master, and a raging demon. Now gathered together again for the first time in fifteen years, they set their sights on their targets: Naga and the Heartless.

* * *

**True light sleeps in the darkness and awakes the awakening. Will Kyira be reunited with her son? Will Gale's crew be enough to defeat Naga? What was Master Xehanort's mistake? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	55. Mysterious Machine

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Chapter Fifty-Five: Mysterious Machine

The scene opens up to the forest surrounding the Sonic Heroes' base. Cream was peacefully taking a walk through the trees with her pet chao, Cheese. At that time, there were a lot of things going through the young rabbits mind. The fact that Cheese was the oldest living creature on the planet was defiantly something to think about. But what concerned Cream the most was her mother. She had sent the older rabbit many letters, but she has no received no reply for weeks.

"What do you think happened to mama, Cheese?" Cream asked her pet.

"Chao, chao." Cheese replied.

"Do you think something bad happened?" Cream asked concerned. "Amy said Sonic went to check on mama out our house, but she wasn't there. Maybe she went on vacation or..."

Suddenly, a series of thuds and clanking noises came from the side, followed by a soft rustle. Cream quickly grabbed Cheese protectively and waited for any more movement. There was another series of clanks and thuds, this time getting closer.

"What do you think it is, Cheese?" Cream asked; the thuds getting closer. "Well, better to find out later."

Cheese understood what she was getting at and willingly allowed himself to be curled into a ball. Cheese made a firm grip for the Cheese ball (**No pun intended)** at shot it straight through the bushes with unbelievable force. There was a whizzing sound, shortly followed by a hard thud.

"Chao!" Cheese cried.

"I'm coming, Cheese!" Cream shouted.

Cream pushed through the brush of trees and bushes towards the direction of Cheese's chirps. After a couple of minutes, Cream found Cheese floating around something; most likely the thing she hit.

"Chao chao chao." Cheese squeaked.

"What do you think it is?" Cream questioned curiously.

Of course, Cheese wouldn't have the answer; neither of them had seen one before. It defiantly looked like a robot, but no one Metal or Eggman would make. It was a small yellow robot about Cream's size. It had an orange crest erect from the center of its head, broad-chested body with three beige caps, large blue eyes, and olive-brownish hands.

"Chao chao." Cheese squeaked, poking the robots head.

"Don't do that, Cheese." Cream said sternly. "I wonder what it is. Maybe Tails will know something?"

Cream grabbed the robot by its arm and started dragging it back to the heroes' base. Back at the base, most of the heroes were gathered in the living room. Tikal, finally adjusted to living with Wave, was practicing the ancient art of watching TV; Blue was the teacher. Amy was trying to convince Sonic to go out on a date with her, but the blue blur was afraid Rector was watching. And Tails was having a conversation with Omega about building a new project called the X-Tornado.

"I understand you hypothesis, but how would we apply the method and the funding?" Omega questioned.

"I made some plans on how we can build the X-Tornado." Tails replied. "But what we have to worry about is how to convince G.U.N. to..."

"Hey, everyone, I'm home!" Cream called.

"Hey, Cream, where have you been?" Amy questioned. "I thought you would have been back a long time ago."

"I was coming back when I found this?" Cream said, pulling the strange robot into view.

"What is that?" Tikal asked, finally breaking from her televised trance.

"Do you think its one of Eggman's machine?" Blue questioned.

"I don't know." Sonic said thoughtfully. "It's not really Eggman's style. He usually builds them as big as possible."

"We better scan it in the workshop to make there's nothing dangerous." Tails suggested.

The heroes nodded while Omega lifted the little robot into his masculine arms. The walked past the hanger to Tails' workshop and set the small robot at the examination table. Everyone waited patiently for the examination to finish, or for the next two minutes. After that everyone just got bored at left to do their own thing. Tikal and Blue were back at the television, Cream helped Amy cook dinner, and Sonic was running around on the ceiling. No one knows how he did it. After several minutes of mindless boredom, Tails and Omega finally appeared.

"Hey, guys, we're finished." Tails said proudly.

"So what'd ya find out?" Sonic asked, jumping down from the ceiling.

"The mechanical unit is a subspecies from the machine class known as the Gizoids!" Omega stated.

"What is a Gizoid?" Tikal asked curiously.

"It was in Professor Gerald's records." Omega explained. "It says that he came across a Gizoid mech while he was in the process of completing Kumori. The Gizoid is said to be an ancient weapon from another planet. The professor discovered it and attempted to tame its destructive powers, but failed. In a desperate act, Professor Gerald finish Kumori early and released her to the Gizoid. Kumori succeeded in destroying the Gizoid, but was unable to be complete. That's why the professor built Shadow."

"So then this thing is dangerous, too?" Blue questioned seriously.

"But if he is, he would have attacked me." Cream defended. "I don't think it would hurt anyone."

"Cream's right." Tails nodded. "We checked all its programming and system, but there was nothing dangerous about it."

"That's good." Amy said. "So where is the little guy?"

"We just finished fixing him up." Tails stated, standing aside to reveal the mysterious robot. "Say hello."

The little robot's eyes flashed for a moment, meaning he was back online after the incident with Cream. The first thing he saw was Tails' smiling face, which confused him for a moment. He was frightened by the sight of Omega and Blue, but calmed down when Tikal kneeled down to him and patted him affectionately. Cream and Cheese eyed him strangely like he some kind of alien, which he was. But when his senses roved over to Sonic and Amy, they received a completely different reaction.

"Mommy, daddy!" The robot cried. Unexpectedly, the little robot ran to Amy and hugged her fearfully. "Mommy, daddy, I thought I lost you."

"Aw, isn't that cute." Amy giggled, looking to Sonic. "He thinks he's our baby."

"I think you got the wrong hedgehog's, buddy!" Sonic yelled frantically. "We're not your parents!"

"Then who are you?" The robot asked.

"The ones you called mommy and daddy are Sonic and Amy." Cream explained giddily, pointing to the people she called. "And that's Blue, Tikal, Omega, and my boyfriend, Tails."

"I'm not your boyfriend!" Tails yelled.

"I'm Cream and this is my pet chao, Cheese." Cream continued, ignoring Tails' outburst. "What's your name?"

"Emerl." Emerl stated.

"Emerl, what a sweet name." Tikal smiled. "It sounds just like emerald."

"So, Emerl, where did you come from?" Blue asked.

Emerl seemed loss for words at the moment; he was hesitating. The group of six, not counting Cheese, moved closer, gazing at the robot with a suspicious look. Suddenly, the alarm went off. A video screen emerged from the wall and flipped on, revealing the G.U.N. Commander on the other side.

"Yo, what's up?" Sonic asked coolly.

"The Dark Rulers are up to something again." The commander explained. "Reports from Station Square say Black Doom is currently robbing a local jewelry store. We believe he may be looking for a Chaos Emerald."

"But we have three of the Chaos Emeralds." Tikal stated. "And Nazo should have the other four."

"Then it must be the last Sol Emerald." Blue said. "Come on, we have to hurry before Nazo gets stronger."

At once, Sonic zipped into the storage room and made a grab for the green Emerald. He ran back to the others and tossed the Emerald to Blue, who grasped it firmly in his claws. Tikal wrapped her arm around Blue's and linked arms with everyone else.

"CHAOS CONTROL!!" Blue shouted.

And in a flash of green light, the six heroes vanished to Station Square, leaving little Emerl back at the base. But the robot didn't seem at all phased by their disappearance. In his eyes, the scene was playing over in his artificial mind, scanning the Chaos Emerald and Blue as he performed the Chaos Control.

"Chaos Control: copy complete." Emerl said seriously. He raised his hand and called out. "CHAOS CONTROL!!"

And in a brilliant flash of light, the mystery robot mimicked Blue's ability and vanished.

* * *

The scene alters to the heart of Station Square, close to the home of Team Virtex. Seriously, are they ever home? The Black Warriors, the standard soldier of the Black Arms, were clearing out the streets while their leader was inside the jewel shop. Inside, the traitorous overlord, Black Doom, was holding one of the employees of the shop in the air by his neck.

"I will ask you one last time." Black Doom growled. "Where is the yellow Sol Emerald?"

"V-v-vault." The employee gasped.

Unfortunately, he responded too late. By the time he answered Black Doom, he had already died of suffocation. But Black Doom obtained what he wanted, that's all that matters. He tossed the dead human aside and floated over to the back of the store, where he found a large steel vault. It would take a normal person several hours to crack the vault, but Black Doom was far from normal. With a simple thought, Black Doom crushed the vault from the inside. The alien overlord held out his hand and a yellow object went flying into it; the yellow Sol Emerald.

"Another Emerald to add to my collection." Black Doom said malevolently. "Now all I need is the Emeralds from those accursed heroes."

"Why don't to try asking nicely?"

At the sound of the voice, Black Doom shot around towards the entrance of the store. Out of nowhere, the Black Warriors were being tossed randomly at their master. Black Doom swatted them away, draining them of their life force, and gazed at the entrance where the Sonic Heroes were guarding.

"Do you cease to annoy me?" Black Doom said irritably.

"Sorry, comes with the job." Blue joked.

"Surrender the Sol Emerald!" Omega commanded, transforming his claw to a gun. "Or face eradication!"

"Sorry, I have my own plans for the Emerald." Black Doom said wickedly.

"Please return the Emerald to us." Tikal pleaded. "You don't understand what could happen if all of them were brought together."

"I don't think that's gonna work, Tikal." Tails stated.

"Whatever the case," Amy smirked, pulling out her Piko-Piko Hammer. "We'll just have to take it by force. I'm sure Nazo would be too happy if we took the Emerald and beat up one of his men."

"You still think I'm serving that lowly rat?" Black Doom cackled.

"What do you mean?" Cream asked frightfully.

"I have defected myself from the Dark Rulers." Black Doom explained. "I realized that "Lord" Nazo was unfit to rule the world, let alone the entire universe. I have taken into my hands to complete my destiny. I have already taken more than half of the total Emeralds, and the one I hold shall further complete my collection."

"You seem confident." Sonic complimented. "Think ya can take all of us?"

"In this form, no." Black Doom replied. "But that's where my new body comes in."

Blue was done talking and stretch out his claw to the alien overlord. Blue's attack nailed Black Doom in the center, but something didn't seem right. All of a sudden, Black Doom's body started to crack and shattered to a number of pieces. When Black Doom's default body disappeared, Blue found his claw captured by the alien's new body. The body looked almost human, with the exception of the red scales covering him. He had five horns jutted from his head and a red lashing tail from behind. The new Black Doom tugged at Blue's arm, pulling him it that direction. Once close enough, Black Doom whipped his new tail and sent the Chaos clone flying to the other side of the street.

"Ok, didn't see that coming." Blue groaned.

"I know this is a bad time," Tails said. "But that was cool."

"You haven't seen anything yet." Black Doom grinned.

Black Doom took in a deep breath and exhaled with a wave of black flames. Sonic grabbed Tikal and Amy before jumping outside the shop away from the flames. Omega crouched in front of Tails and Cream, deflecting the flames away from the children. The force of the flames was strong enough to push Omega out of the shop, dragging the two children with him. Once outside, Tails grabbed Cream by her arm and pulled her away from the fight. Omega tried to follow, but before he could even stand, Black Doom jumped out of nowhere and stamped down on the robot, smashing him to the ground. Black Doom inhaled once again, but lifted his forearm to block a kick from Sonic on the side.

"Hey, not bad." Sonic commented. "You're pretty good for a circus act."

"And the fun has only just started." Black Doom replied, pushing the hedgehog away. "I think we should move onto the finale."

"Let me do the honors!" Amy shouted.

The pink hedgehog ran up behind the mutated alien and swung her hammer across his head. But to the heroes' surprise, Black Doom retracted his head back into his shoulders. Amy was sent overhead of the alien overlord at the time and was dazed at Black Doom's unusual tactic. Suddenly, Black Doom's head emerged from his shoulders and slammed into Amy's gut, sending her into the side of a building. Enraged by Amy's injury, Sonic dashed around Black Doom, forming a whirling tornado of blue winds.

"You're going to pay for that one, Doom!" Sonic yelled furiously. "SONIC WIND!"

Sonic jumped out of the tornado over Black Doom's head with his signature technique in hand. Just as he was about to bring it down, Black Doom's tail acted on its own accord. The red tail wrapped itself around Sonic's wrist, dismissing the Sonic Wind, and tossed him to the side of the street, ending the blue tornado.

"You truly didn't think it would be that simple, did you?" Black Doom cackled.

"Please, heed me, Black Doom!" Tikal preached peacefully, stepping in front of the overlord. "We don't have to do this. There must be a peaceful solution to all this."

"It will all be peaceful once you're dead." Black Doom stated.

Black Doom took control of his tail and lashed it at Tikal. The echidna priestess closed her eyes from fright, waiting for whatever pain would come; but it didn't. Instead, Tikal opened her eyes to find Blue pushing the tail back with his forearm.

"Blue." Tikal murmured gratefully.

"You dare to attack Tikal." Blue said angrily, tossing the tail aside. "Now you'll have to pay. You with me, Omega!"

"Affirmative!" Omega replied.

Blue grabbed Tikal around the waist and jumped away before Omega went all out with his gatling gun. Thanks to the scales of his new body, Black Doom was impenetrable to bullets. Black Doom once again exhaled a flare of black fire, sending the massive machine crashing into a nearby convenience store. Blue set Tikal down away from the fight and charged forward to Black Doom. The Chaos clone extended both of his arms, wrapping them together to form a jet of water. Black Doom gracefully jumped over the torrent and landed on top of it with ease. Before Blue had a chance to react, Black had already run up the clone's arms and kicked him across the face. While still off the ground, Black Doom flipped around, grasped the clone by his head and flung him down the street and into a brick wall, splattering him across it.

"Ugh...anyone got an aspirin?" Blue groaned.

"At that takes care of that annoyance." Black Doom said, gazing at the yellow Sol Emerald in his hand. "This will prove to you who is that strongest, Nazo." All of a sudden, Cream flew past Black Doom, taking the Emerald. "What?!"

"Looking for this?" Cream asked, holding the Sol Emerald while still in midair.

"Return that Emerald at once!" Black Doom commanded.

"Sorry!" Cream called back. "But I'm not allowed to give Sol Emeralds to villains!"

"You insufferable little creature!" Black Doom roared.

Black Doom up to the small rabbit and swiped his claws to her. Cream stopped flapping her ears for a moment so that she would drop slightly to avoid Doom's claws. Cream recalled Cheese in her hand, curled him into a ball and shot the tiny chao at the alien overlord. Black Doom merely swatted the tiny creature aside and swung around for his tail to get a good angle at the rabbit. Doom's tail swiped across the rabbit's face, forcing her to flop onto the ground, unintentionally releasing the Sol Emerald. Black Doom calmly walked over and picked up the Emerald; but not before kicking Cream one last time in the face.

"Cream!" Tails cried, running to her side. "Cream, are you all right?"

"Tails..." Cream whispered hoarsely.

"It's all right, Cream." Tails assured. "I won't let anything happen to you." He glared at Black Doom. "How could you do that? She's just a little girl!"

"It matters not what she is." Black Doom answered coolly. "Any one who interferes must pay the price of their deeds."

"You heartless monster." Tails growled.

"You flatter me." Black Doom chuckled. "What's say I put an end to that creatures misery?"

"NO!!" Tails screamed.

But it was too late. Black Doom breathed in and exhaled a massive wave of black flames. Worried for Cream, Tails covered her body with his own, embracing the flames that scorched his body. Black Doom smiled with a malevolent victory; he had won. Or so he thought. All of a sudden, the black flames turned red and faded, leaving Tails' body unmarked. But Tails was different. His fur was bright orange and his eyes were blood-red.

"_What is this?_" Black Doom mentally questioned. "_I haven't seen this sort of power except with Nazo._"

Tails stepped forward, crouched down on all fours, and guarded Cream's body protectively. Tails uttered an inhumane growl from the back of his throat, signaling his rage. The changed kit ran forward without thought and jumped at the alien overlord. But Black Doom's worry seemed to fade as he watched the small fox's movements. He simply swiped the hand and smacked the small fox to the side. As Tails tumbled across the ground, his features slowly returned to normal.

"Ugh, what happened?" Tails said, not remembering his change.

"_How unusual._" Black Doom pondered. "_He has great power trapped inside of him, but seems unable to control it. If he ever learns how to master that power, it would become a hindrance to me. Best finish him off while he's still young._"

Black Doom calmly stepped forward; his shadow looming over the small animal. The other heroes, including Cream, recovered from their fights and saw Black Doom approaching Tails. They tried to stop him, but Black Doom was already prepared to kill the fox on the spot. Just as he was ready to breathe his flames, Emerl appeared in a flash of light in front of him and kicked the alien overlord across the head. While Black Doom tumbled to his feet, the others stared at Emerl.

"Emerl? Where did he come from?" Sonic asked confused.

"It looks like he used Chaos Control." Tikal stated. "But how did he do it?"

"During our search, we came across something unusual in his system!" Omega explained. "We were unsure what it was and decided to best leave it alone. It appears the Gizoid has a unit to mimic the tactics of others."

"So he can copy our moves?" Amy simplified.

"Affirmative!" Omega replied.

"Well, I've got to hand it to the little fella." Blue nodded appreciatively.

"Go Emerl!" Cream cheered.

"Huh, Emerl?" Tails muttered noticing his savior. "When did you get here?"

"Don't worry, Tails." Emerl replied confidently. "Just leave everything to me."

"It doesn't matter what you do." Black Doom grinned. "In the end, I'll be sending you to the junk pile."

At once, Black Doom inhaled and exhaled another wave of black flames. Emerl waited and scanned his memory banks from the earlier part of the fight. He found the memory of Sonic using his signature technique and scanned it.

"Sonic Wind: copy complete!" Emerl stated.

Emerl held out his mechanical hand and called forth a large amount of orange chaos energy. He compressed it together and forced it into the shape of a sphere, similar to Sonic's attack. With the attack set, Emerl ran forward with the attack in front. Against all odds, Emerl pushed away the black flames and drove the Sonic Wind into Black Doom's chest. The real Black Doom had no other choice but to flee and watch as his newest body shattered to pieces. He could barely contain himself when the robot stole the yellow Sol Emerald from him.

"This is the end, heroes!" Black Doom screamed before he vanished.

"That was tight!" Sonic cheered, wrapping his arm around Emerl's shoulders. "Sweet way to use my move!"

"I think he used it even better than you." Amy commented.

"No way!" Sonic exclaimed.

"I must admit, he is better than I thought." Blue nodded. "He would be a great addition to our team."

"Addition?" Emerl repeated. "You want me to be on your team?"

"Of course, silly." Cream smiled sweetly. "You were a great help and you could do even more good against Nazo."

"So what will it be?" Tikal asked. "Will you join us?"

"Of course!" Emerl yelled excitedly.

"All right!" Sonic hooted. "Party for Emerl at the base!"

* * *

And so the team returned to the base, where Cream introduced the little robot to the rest of the team. It took much convincing from Sonic before Shadow would accept him. Upon hearing his victory over Black Doom and the addition of their newest Emerald, the team hosted a small party in commemoration for Emerl. The entire thing was a hit; except for Blaze chasing Gary (T**hought I forgot about him, didn't ya?**) After an hour our celebrations, everyone went to bed; Emerl stayed with Cream and Blaze. The two girls were sleeping peaceful, but Emerl reawaked for some reason.

"Mission 1: complete." Emerl stated silently. "Mission 2: engage."

Stealthily, Emerl snuck past the girls bed and silently walked out the door. He was walking down the hall with as quiet as possible until he heard a noise. He stepped to the wall and slowly looked around the edge; Tails was working late in his workshop. Taking the data of Sonic's speed, Emerl ran past with the young kit noticing. After making sure he wasn't followed, Emerl entered the computer room. He stepped up to the computer and held out his hand. His palm suddenly opened and a wire connected him to the computer. The computer screen lit up and Metal Sonic was seen on the other end.

"Have you succeeded?" Metal questioned.

"Yes, the heroes have accepted me as one of them." Emerl reported. "I have already scanned the data of seven heroes. If I can convince them to take me on their missions, I should be able to copy the rest."

"Perfect." Metal said victoriously. "We will be able to destroy the heroes from the inside. They won't know what hit them." He gazed down proudly at the little robot. "You have done well. Your mother and I are so proud of you, Emerl."

"Thank you, father." Emerl said happily.

* * *

**The heroes recieve a new friend and enemy. Will Black Doom obtain all fourteen Emeralds? Will the heroes discover Emerl's secret? Or will Metal Sonic's son be the downfall of the Sonic Heroes. Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	56. The Envious LifeForm

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Tomo © Kiba Sniper  
Gemini © DarkspineSilver79

Chapter Fifty-Six: The Envious Life-Form

The scene opens up on the breezy beach near Soleanna. Sonic and Shadow were out on the beach, upon Shadow's orders, to begin training with the Fusion Dance. It took them three tries to perfect the stances. The first time, Sonic took too many steps, and the two ended up as a fat, sleepy rat. The second time, Shadow forgot to point, and they turned into a hedgehog as fit as an old man who hadn't eaten in weeks. But the third time, they perfected the technique and Shadic was reborn. Shadic spent the last half-hour performing new techniques until their time ran up.

"Well, that wasn't so bad." Sonic grinned.

"It would be a whole lot better without those ridiculous dance moves." Shadow said embarrassingly.

"Aw, come on, Shad." Sonic happily jokingly. "You really need to lighten up, ya know."

"Telling Shadow to lighten up is like is like telling Rouge not to steal."

Shadow and Sonic nearly jumped out of their fur when they realized that it was just Amy and Kumori, they unofficial girlfriends. Now, Sonic had no problem with Amy being around; he would most likely stick with her permanently if it wasn't for her overprotective big brother, Rector. But Shadow was a different case. Though he promised to be there for Kumori whenever she needed him, he regularly found her presence irritating.

"How'd you find us?" Sonic asked.

"With the tracker I planted on Shadow." Kumori replied.

"She planted a tracker on you?" Sonic questioned, looking through Shadow's fur. "Where is it?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Shadow grumbled.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Amy said happily, gazing out to the ocean. "The sky is so clear and the water looks so perfect. This would be a great opportunity to go for a swim."

"Uh, I just remembered." Sonic said fearfully. "I have to talk to...uh, Blaze! Yeah, I wanted to ask Blaze something!"

But Amy wasn't buying it. Sonic tried to make a run for it, but the pink hedgehog whacked his over the head, knocking him unconscious. As Amy was dragging Sonic to the water, Kumori took her sweet time clinging to Shadow's arm.

"Hey, Shadow." Kumori said pleasingly. "What do you say we join them? Like, maybe as a date?

"Not a chance." Shadow said coldly.

"But, Shadow, I..."

"Listen!" Shadow said rudely. "I promised I would protect you, but I never said anything about loving you. You need to wake up to the reality: I don't love you and I never will."

At once, Shadow pulled his arm away from her grip and took off, leaving a trail of dust behind. Kumori was devastated and fell to her knees, crying. Amy, who was watching the scene, walked up to her rival and kneeled next to her.

"Are you ok?" Amy asked softly.

"I don't get it." Kumori sobbed. "I love him. Why doesn't he feel the same way?"

"Because that's just how Shadow is." Amy said sadly. Suddenly, her face brightened with inspiration. "Hey, I've got an idea."

As Amy whispered her plans to Kumori, neither female was aware that Sonic was drowning.

* * *

The scene alters to the dimension of the Dark Rulers Castle. Nazo was sitting at his throne while Shira Darkcrest **(I finally gave her a last name)** was finishing up on his fully regrown arm. At that moment, Erazor Djinn, Tomo the Chameleon, and Mephiles the Dark warped in front of their leader, using their own methods. Nack the Weasel ran in, panting, before fainting.

"Why is he here again?" Tomo groaned irritantly.

"He provides entertainment value." Erazor stated.

"What do you have to report?" Nazo growled, cringing slightly from Shira's medicine.

"Even since the incident at Station Square, we have had no luck tracing Black Doom." Mephiles said solemnly.

"Then perhaps I was sending the wrong people to do the job." Nazo glared; the villains shivered slightly. "This job needs someone who is more qualified."

The God of Darkness snapped his fingers, transforming the walls into shelves of canisters. Nazo held out both his hands, calling down two canisters together. One contained a dog skeleton and the other contained a shining crystal. Nazo levitated the two canisters together as he summoned a black flame in his hand.

"Black Chaos: Dark Merge!" Nazo yelled.

The dark flames engulfed the canisters and faded away to reveal Nazo's newest creation. The beast resembled that of a Doberman, but with a light blue fur and wore baggy white pants. He had shining white eyes, Savage elongated claws, and several crystals protruding from his back, hands, and feet. At the sight of his creator, he kneeled.

"Present yourself." Nazo commanded.

"I am Drig." Drig announced. "I live only to serve Lord Nazo."

"Perfect." Nazo said pleasingly. "I have one simple assignment for you: hunt down Black Doom and kill him."

* * *

The scene alters to the Sonic Heroes base the next day. Shadow was sitting in the living room, attempting to meditate, but was constantly interrupted by the cheers of Emerl and the Babylon Rogues. They were watching Sunday football and they each placed bets. Jet and Emerl said Emerald Town would win, but Wave and Storm agued that Green Hill would be the victors. So far, Emerald Town was winning, but Green Hill was starting to catch up.

"Come on! Come on!" Jet yelled.

"Take it all the way!" Storm cheered.

Just then, to Shadow's relief, the doorbell rang. When did they get a door bell?

"At least it'll put some distance between them and I." Shadow said, opening the base doors. "And who, may I ask, are you?"

It was unusual to have any visitors at the base, since it's supposed to be secret, and this character defiantly fit that category. He was a light brown hedgehog with raggedy black marks going up his limbs and quills. He wore black gloves, and black boots with a green outline and a yellow line going down the center.

"Hey, buddy." The hedgehog said deviously. "The name's Gemini. I'm Amy's cousin."

"It's about time you showed up." Amy said impatiently, shoving Shadow aside. "We've been waiting an hour for you."

"Sorry, I was a little preoccupied." Gemini said sheepishly.

"With gambling?" Amy questioned.

"Yep!" Gemini said happily. "So where is this lady you wanted me to meet?"

At the word 'lady', Shadow was more interested at this hedgehog's intentions. He followed the two cousins while trying to think of who he was talking about. All the females in the base their own love lives: Sonic and Amy, Tails and Cream, Knuckles and Rouge. So who was he talking about? He had unfortunately found out the hard way when the walked into the room that Kumori and Amy shared. Kumori was sitting patiently on the bed, reading a book, until the trio of hedgehogs walked in.

"Hello?" Kumori said uncertainly.

"Gemini, this is Kumori." Amy introduced. "Kumori, this is my cousin, Gemini."

"A pleasure to meet you." Gemini said, taking Kumori's hand courteously; Shadow didn't like it.

"Why exactly are you here." Shadow glared at Gemini.

"He's here to take me on a date." Kumori smiled.

"A what?!" Shadow exclaimed.

"I got tired of waiting for you, Shadow." Kumori said seriously. "You always run away without giving me a chance. Amy suggested I move on and went ahead called Gemini. I hear that, besides his gambling problem, he's a real gentleman."

"Tough luck, man." Gemini said.

Even though it only happened a minute ago, everyone in the base now knew of Kumori's date. Shadow was in the living room, Emerl and the Rogues included, sulking. After taking a few minutes to get to know each other, Kumori and Gemini were exiting the base.

"Later, guys!" Gemini called to them. "We're headed to Station Square for lunch!"

"Be back soon!" Kumori called before leaving.

"You know, I didn't think you would let her go that easily." Emerl said.

"What do I care?" Shadow said angrily. "She can do whatever she wants. It's not like I have any control of what she does in her life. You know, I don't know why I bother with her. She can date that sideshow freak, see that I care."

"You're going to follow her, aren't ya?" Wave asked, smirking.

"Like hell I am!" Shadow yelled, running out of the base.

"This should be good." Jet sniggered, following the speeding hedgehog.

* * *

The scene alters to the heart of Station Square. And, as usual, Team Virtex was out on a mission somewhere. They are so unreliable. Gemini kept his word and decided to take Kumori out to lunch. But what she expected was just a simple café, not a five-star extravagant restaurant. It must be fun to be a millionaire. Gemini reserved a whole area for themselves outside in the back of the restaurant. This was good news for Shadow, who was spying with Emerl and the Rogues from a building above them.

"Aw man, this place has the best food in town." Storm moaned, gazing longingly at the food below.

"Forget the food, this guy is loaded!" Jet said excitedly. "If I could just find out where he keeps his fortune."

"But wouldn't that be stealing?" Emerl asked innocently.

"Yeah." Wave answered.

"Ok, just asking." Emerl said nonchalantly.

Shadow groaned, wondering what God hated him so much to bring these idiots along. He tried his best to ignore the squabbling next to him and focused through the binoculars he brought. Kumori looked like she was having a nice time with Gemini, which only served to make Shadow even more angry. Gemini must have said something kind to Kumori, because she kissed him on the cheek a moment later. Shadow was pissed beyond belief.

"_Who the hell does that guy think he is, making a move on my girl?_" Shadow thought, catching himself in mid-thought. "_Wait a minute, she's not my girl. I don't care about her." _He watched the two hedgehogs. "_But that guy, I just don't like him_"

As Shadow continued to focus on the two below, despite the constant yelling next to him. Suddenly, the railing they were standing on collapsed. To make matters worse, all five of them dropped ten feet down, right between Kumori and Gemini.

"Shadow!" Kumori screamed.

"Hiya." Emerl waved sheepishly.

"All of you!?" Kumori yelled. "You were spying on me?!"

"Hey, it was all Shadow's idea." Wave stated.

"Thanks for the back up." Shadow said sarcastically. "Listen, I only came here to look out for you. I don't trust this Gemini guy."

"If that a fact?" Kumori growled. "I'll have you know that Gemini has been the perfect gentleman, unlike someone."

"Easy there, Kumori." Gemini interrupted. "Sounds to me like someone's a little jealous."

"I am not jealous!" Shadow shouted.

While Gemini and Shadow initiated a verbal showdown, Emerl and the Rogues were examining the broken railings. The exception was Storm, who was eating the restaurant out of business. The metal bars were bent and cut at awkward angles. It wasn't until Jet found a sharpened crystal shaped like a dagger did they make any progress.

"What's this?" Jet asked.

"It seems to be an ionic crystal." Emerl examined. "This one seems to have been made by natural causes."

"But crystals don't normally form that way, do they?" Wave asked.

"No, they don't" Emerl answered.

"So where did it come from?" Jet asked.

At that moment, something dived out of the sky and crashed near the groups. This directed Shadow and Gemini's attention away from each other and brought Storm out of the kitchen. When the dust clear, Drig was seen on all fours, taking a deep breath at the air. Drig had two ways to see: his eyes and nose. He had been tracking the scent of Black Doom all day, but his nose led him to the closest thing: his son, Shadow.

"Who's that guy?" Storm mumbled, face still stuffed.

"My name is Drig." Drig announced. "I am here under Lord Nazo's orders to hunt down Black Doom."

"Where is here?" Shadow growled, looked left and right.

"You cannot fool me, Black Doom!" Drig shouted, pointing to Shadow. "I can smell your blood a mile away."

"Excuse me, but I'm kinda on a date here." Gemini said bored. "Can just leave already."

"I'm not going anywhere without Black Doom!" Drig yelled.

Drig transformed his hand into a crystallized sword and jumped at Gemini. Kumori looked worried, Shadow looked pleased, but Gemini looked confident. Just when he thought he had Gemini, Drig found his crystallized hand in the ground. Drig doesn't know what happened next, but he suddenly found two fists in his face and fell back. When Drig jumped back to his feet, he found not one, but two Gemini's.

"There are two of him?" Storm asked in awe.

"Why do you think they call me Gemini?" Gemini said proudly.

Unknown to the heroes, Emerl secretly copied Gemini's separation technique; he thought it would be useful in the future. Back in the battle, Drig crystallized both his hands and made a dive for both Gemini's. As Drig flailed his hands around, the two Gemini's were dodging circles around the hound. When Drig missed one, the other would have a free shot, but when he attacked both, they ended up kicking him in the face. Gemini seemed confident in his abilities, even had time for a snack he stole from Storm. Drig swung his sword at one of the Gemini's, missed, and gave the other a chance to attack from behind. But just as he was about to nail the beast, the sun reflected off his crystals and flared him in the eyes.

"Damn!" Gemini yelled. "I can't see!"

"Me neither!" The other Gemini yelled.

"So, you both share the same sight." Drig smirked. "I wonder if you feel the same pain."

Drig formed a mace made of crystal and flung it at the Gemini in from of him. Being blinded, Gemini couldn't see the mace and was knocked towards his double. The two Gemini's collided with each other, merged, and tumbled backwards on the ground. Gemini was still blinded and completely unaware of the beast looming over him.

"We have to help him." Kumori said.

"Why should we?" Shadow growled.

"Shadow, you can be so selfish sometimes." Kumori glared, running to Gemini's aid.

"So, what do we do?" Storm asked.

"Save the day?" Jet suggested.

"Fine with me." Wave nodded.

"Babylon Rogues, attack!" Jet ordered.

On commanded, the trio of avians, charged at the crystal hound; Emerl had mysteriously vanished. Drig was just a few feet from Gemini and raised his crystal mace to finish the job. Just then, Kumori jumped out of nowhere and kicked the mace out of his hand. Drig growled and tried to create more crystal weapons, but was unable to do so when Storm grabbed his arms. Seeing the opportunity, Kumori rebounded off the ground and aimed her foot for the crystal hound. Acting fast, Drig pushed all his weight into his arms and tossed the large albatross over his shoulders, crushing Kumori beneath him.

"Geez, you need to lay off the food, fatty." Drig said.

There are three things you should never do: 1) Mess with Amy around Rector. 2) Touch Shadow's car. 3) Call Storm fat.

"I'M NOT FAT, I'M BIG BONED!!" Storm roared.

"Dude, run." Jet advised.

Drig ignored the advise and planted his feet firmly into the ground. As Storm came charging in like a mad bull, Drig thrust out his hands and stopped the massive albatross in his tracks. With a simple twist if his wrists, Drig redirected Storm in the direction of the restaurant wall. Drig pulled his feet out of the ground, unaware of the looming hawk above. Jet jumped into the air with his fans held out and swung them around to form a tornado to catch the hound. As an added bonus, Wave reached into her bag and tossed a pack of exploding rings she stole from Tails. The rings exploded inside the tornado, just as Jet landed.

"Can't handle the best?" Jet smirked.

"Better stick with the rest." Wave taunted.

"Did you really think it would be that easy?" Drig questioned.

As the dust clear around the spot, they found a ball of crystal where Drig once stood. It didn't take long for them to realize that Drig was the crystal ball. Suddenly, Drig's started spinning in motion and shot out from its pit. Jet pushed Wave out of the way, sending the emerald bird flying through the wall. Wave tried to exact revenge for him, but bombs weren't working on his ball form. So, Wave by her old stand by: her wrench. Drig's crystal ball came rolling like thunder and Wave swung her wrench with all her might. Unfortunately, her wrench rebounded and Drig nailed the Swallow in the head, knocking her unconscious.

"Is that truly the best you have?" Drig sneered.

"CHAOS LANCE!"

Drig looked up as Shadow flew overhead with one of his most powerful attacks. Just as Shadow shot the large arrow downward, Drig curled back into his crystal ball form, reflecting the attack away. Shadow was getting more irritated with this mutt every second. Suddenly, Drig shot upwards and nailed Shadow in the chin. Drig uncurled and growled while Shadow fell backwards on the floor. As Drig stamped forward, Kumori jumped out of nowhere and side kicked the dog in the face.

"Don't you ever stay down?" Drig growled.

"Not with the smell waking me up." Kumori taunted.

"You little..."

Drig dived at Kumori, but the female hedgehog flipped over and kicked the hound in the back of the head. Shadow was headed to join the fight when Gemini, finally able to see, pulled him inside the restaurant.

"What the hell are you doing?" Shadow hissed. "We've got to help her kill that mutt."

"No matter what we do, we can't get him." Gemini said seriously. "If I try to attack, he could use his crystals to blind me. And if you use you attacks, he'll just use his ball form and reflect them back."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Shadow questioned.

"I know you don't like me, but we have to work together." Gemini said. "It's the only way we can take this guy down."

Shadow didn't look too pleased with the idea and was all for rejecting it. Suddenly, they could hear Kumori screaming and ran out to check on her. Kumori was lying on the ground, her leg cut, as Drig trudged closer with his crystallized sword.

"Kumori?!" Shadow exclaimed.

"We've got to work together!" Gemini stated.

With Kumori in danger, Shadow had no other choice. He agreed. Kumori was on the ground, clutching her leg, as Drig overshadowed her. The crystal hound raised his sword to strike, but found his weapon discarded when Gemini kicked it away. As he turned towards one Gemini, the other came from behind and kicked him in the back of the head. Both Gemini's stood beside each other as Drig pulled himself back up. Remembering the last bout, Drig elongated his crystals for the sun to reflect off of. He was in luck; the sun reflected of his largest crystal and blinded both Gemini's in a single attempt.

"Can't put up much of a fight being blind." Drig sniggered.

"We're not the ones you have to worry about." One Gemini smirked.

"He is." The other Gemini said.

Drig stared with a confused expression at the doppelgangers until he felt something wrap around his waist. He looked back in horror as Shadow grabbed him from behind. The black hedgehog was now red with an evil expression that traces back to Black Doom.

"Let me go!" Drig cried fearfully.

"You wanted Doom, now you got it!" Shadow cackled wildly. "Welcome to my Hell! CHAOS BLAST!!"

Shadow released all of his compressed energy, forming it into a red nuclear blast. Shadow used enough willpower to compress the blast to a minimal and away from his friends. Somehow, Shadow's attack gave off enough energy to restore Gemini's sight and allowed him to return to his singular shape. When the red blast faded, Drig was reduced to ashes and Shadow collapsed to his knees. Shadow began to fall forward, but Gemini caught him before he could reach the ground.

"Thanks." Shadow groaned.

Shadow quickly regained the strength to stand as Kumori and the Rouge ran up to them; Emerl was still missing. Unknown to the heroes, Emerl had copied all their techniques and went back to base to report to his father.

"Are you ok?" Storm asked.

"No, I'm not ok." Shadow said sadly. He regained whatever composer he had and turned to Kumori, who was still angry. "Kumori, it was wrong for me to spy on you, no matter what the reason may be."

"That's right." Kumori huffed.

"But I couldn't help myself." Shadow sighed. "When I heard that you were going on a date, I was worried. Worried that you had lost interest in me. I always say that I don't love you, but I can't imagine my life without you chasing me. But it's your decision. If you want to be with Gemini, then I will not interfere."

"Looks like the plan worked like a charm." Gemini said brightly.

"Plan?" Jet repeated. "What plan?"

"It was Amy's idea." Kumori giggled. "She was planning to use it against Sonic, but decided to let me use. See, I go out with a guy and Shadow will get jealous. Amy suggest Gemini and I had Shadow hook, line, and sinker."

"Devious." Wave praised.

"So, your not interested in him?" Shadow asked hopefully.

"You think I would be interested in the spoiled, stubborn, gambling-addicted idiot?" Kumori said.

"Hey, I'm not spoiled." Gemini retorted.

"That was a dirty trick." Shadow grimaced.

"Hey, chill, Shadow." Gemini said, slinging his arm over the hedgehog's shoulder. "It's all water under the bridge now, right."

"That's not the only thing on the bridge." Shadow growled. "CHAOS CONTROL!"

A moment later, Gemini found himself hanging upside-down from the top of the Golden Gate Bridge in California.

"This is so not cool!" Gemini screamed.

* * *

The scene alters to the Dark Rulers castle. Nazo was watching the fight through one of his viewing portals and was enraged by Drig's failure. He pounded his fists in anger, only to feel a stabbing pain from his arm. Sensing his master's anger, Mephiles teleported into the throne room with on of his time orbs.

"What displeases you, my lord?" Mephiles bowed.

"Those rats keep getting in the way." Nazo sneered. "Sonic, Shadow, Silver, they always meddle into my affairs."

"You do realize there is a way to get rid of them, don't you?" Mephiles questioned.

"I do know." Nazo sighed. "And I'm afraid we must resort to that plan if we are to win this war."

"Then we should begin right away, my lord." Mephiles suggested.

"Not yet." Nazo said pleasingly. "Let us wait a while before we start. Soon, we can begin Project: Hellzone."

* * *

**Your actions show how much you care. What will affairs shall happen between Shadow and Kumori? What is Poject: Hellzone? Will someone save Gemini? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	57. Eye of the Tiger

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Armand © SupergamerGreg79

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Eye of the Tiger

The scene opens up at night in the most populated city in the world, Station Square. The western side of the city was still under repairs from the battle between Nazo and Shadic. But despite that, there was nothing more peaceful than the starry night sky. But near the Station Square Museum, the peace was destroyed by an ominous black cloud slipping through the windows. Once inside, the black cloud shaped its form until Erazor Djinn was found standing in its place. Erazor grinned malevolently as he slowly approached his target. It was a small blue glass sphere with a perfect clear crystal floating in the center.

"At last." Erazor murmured. "The Heart of Nix. For years, these foolish humans have kept it as an artifact for display; unaware of what true power it possesses. I must truly thank Lord Nazo for finding this power item."

"And we have to thank you for talking so long."

Just as Erazor reached for the glass sphere, a silver flash passed him, cutting deep into the back of his hand. When the dark genie looked over, Howl was sheathing his sword. He turned around and ducked down just in time to avoid Rector's flying kick. Before the genie realized it, Marine and Raine had him trapped from one side while Rector and Howl had him trapped by the other. Marine, who was slowly learning her powers, shot a minuscule green blast at Erazor, but the djinn crushed it easily within his hand. Erazor pulled out his razor blade just as Howl unsheathed his sword and took a swing at him. They were both equally matched, but Erazor knew Howl was the better swordsman. Lucky for him, Raine threw a cloud of powder into the air, giving the djinn to step away. When the powder disappeared, Howl was paralyzed in place.

"I–can't move!" Howl strained.

"Sorry, Howl!" Raine said worriedly.

"What did you do to him, mate?" Marine asked, poking at Howl's stiff body.

"All his nerves have been stopped." Raine explained "I guess that was a bad time to test my paralysis powder."

"It was a poor choice to challenge me." Erazor said, Sphere in hand. "Did you really think you could defeat me?"

"Yeah, that's my job!"

The voice was entirely new to anyone in the room. All for combatants searched the dark room of the museum, but was completely unaware of where the voice had radiated from. Just then, a shadowed figured jumped from the ceiling and snatched the Heart of Nix right out of Erazor's hand.

"Show-off." Rector glared.

"Who in Ifrit's name are you?" Erazor questioned.

As the moonlight began to form from the windows, the shadow figure became clear to the others. He was a purple tiger with black stripes, looked roughly around seventeen. He wore a blue vest, blue slacks, black shoes, and black fingerless gloves. And on his wrist was a silver object that looked similar to a high-tech watch.

"I am Armand Novak the Tiger." Armand said proudly. "You probably heard of my father, Tobias Novak the Tiger."

"Never heard of him." The others stated; Armand facefaulted.

"I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear that." Armand murmured.

"As a loyal member of the Dark Rulers, I order you to surrender the Heart of Nix!" Erazor commanded.

"You'll have to pry it from my cold dead claws." Armand smirked.

"With pleasure." Armand said deviously.

Erazor whipped out his razor blade and made a dive for the newcomer. Armand, with amazing acrobatic skills, effortlessly flipped over the djinn's head and kicked off the back of it. Erazor ran into a podium, infuriated at the tiger already, as Armand gracefully landed on his feet. As Erazor stepped up, Armand pointed his wrist watch forward and pressed one of the many buttons. Suddenly, a laser net formed from out of nowhere, aimed for Erazor. Unfortunately, Rector was trying to catch Erazor from behind, but was pinned to the wall by the net when Erazor jumped to the side. Erazor breathed out a torrent of fire, but Armand blocked it with a laser shield from his watch.

"Is that really the best you got?" Armand said victoriously.

"Not really." Erazor said behind Armand.

By the time Armand had realized it, Erazor Djinn had kicked him to the wall. The tigers head slammed hard into the wall, leaving him temporarily dazed. But that was all Erazor need for him to let go of the Heart of Nix. Armand dropped the glass sphere and could only stare as it gently rolled to Erazor's feet.

"Foolish feline." Erazor chuckled, picking up the sphere. "Did you really think your technology could defeat my magic?"

"Why don't we find out?" Armand said, holding out his watch. "Try this on for size. MEGA LASER!!"

Despite all impossibilities, a large red beam of light erupted from the end of Armand's watch. Even in the face of such massive power, Erazor did not seem threatened by the attack. And at the last second, Erazor faded into a cloud of black smoke and effortlessly evaded the laser. Armand's laser destroyed the eastern wall of the museum, allowing Erazor to slip free.

"Ok, maybe that wasn't such a smart move." Armand said sheepishly. He turned to Raine. "By the way, I never asked who you guys were."

"We're Team Virtex." Raine introduced. "I am Raine and these are my friends: Marine, Howl, and our leader, Rector."

"Hey, I know you guys." Armand said. "Your friends with the Sonic Heroes. Do you think you could get me Blaze's number.

For some strange, unknown reason, Silver was walking around the city and heard Armand through the hole in the wall. He levitated a random pot and tossed it at Armand's head. The tiger fell and Silver ran away with a cheer of victory.

"That was random." Raine said.

"Well, that's just great." Rector sneered, ripping the net that trapped him. "Because of your screw-up, Erazor got away."

"Excuse me, MY screw-up." Armand glared. "If it wasn't for me, you guys would be dead."

"We were doing just fine without you!" Rector flared.

The red hedgehog and the purple tiger glared at one another; sparks of battle radiating from their eyes. Armand looked away for a moment when he found Marine poking, pulling, and even biting at his watch. Armand finally pulled his hand away when the curious raccoon pulled out a hacksaw.

"What are you doing?" Armand asked hesitantly.

"Just trying to see how it does those cool things, mate." Marine said eagerly.

"Yeah, I've never seen technology like that since Metal Sonic." Raine said, healing Howl.

"I don't really know where it came from." Armand admitted. "It was a gift from my dad. It may looks small but it holds a ton of things: Radio, maps, weapons, lasers, and even serves low calories snacks. The only thing it can't do is tell time."

"It can't tell time?" Marine repeated.

"There was no more room for the clock." Armand shrugged.

"Look, you watch is very impressive." Rector said sarcastically. "But unless it can tell us why Erazor to that thing..."

"Actually, it can." Armand stated. "That artifact is called the Heart of Nix. Nix was a legendary spirit that controlled water at will. After she passed on to the spirit realm, she left behind her heart to a human she once loved. With her heart, the man was able to peacefully bend the waters until it disappeared. Whoever controls the heart controls the waters of the world."

"That sounds awesome, mate!" Marine shouted happily. Imagine what a captain like myself could do with it."

"But first, we would need to get it back from Erazor." Rector said.

"And that's what I intend to do." Armand said, jumping through the hole in the wall. "I guess I'll see ya around sometime."

And with that, Armand disappeared into the night.

"Well, now what do we do?" Howl asked, finally able to move.

"Let's think for a moment." Raine said thoughtfully; the males mimicked her, but Marine was staring into space. "If Erazor stole the artifact, he must be using it to control the water."

"But Erazor isn't one to think small." Howl stated. "If that genie wants to do any damage, he would need to find a large amount of water."

"And there is only one place that can hold that much water." Rector said.

"Soleanna!" The trio exclaimed.

"Hey, isn't that the museum keeper guy that hates you so much." Marine pointed.

Upon hearing what Marine said, the founding members of Team Virtex slowly turned around. They were unfortunate to find the museum curator, the guy who gave them their first job, staring open mouthed at the hole Armand created. The curator had hated Virtex for destroying his museum the first time and he was not happy to see them this time.

"You'll pay for this!" The Curator yelled.

"Run for it!" Rector screamed.

* * *

The scene alters to the next day at the City of Water, Soleanna. The princess of the city, Princess Elise, was walking down the street, surrounded by guards, making her way to the docks. She and her advisor were to set sail for a business conference with the Queen of South Island, Aleena the Hedgehog. But in all honesty, Elise would rather be anywhere else than princess duties. Elise walked up the plank of a long white boat and sighed in annoyance.

"Do we have to go?" Elise moaned, taking her seat.

"Princess!" The advisor exclaimed. "You must remember your duties to Soleanna. It is crucial that we complete this business transaction between our two countries. South Island is recognized as the..."

"As the largest resource trader in the world." Elise said monotone. "I already know all this. But can't we skip the boring meeting and do something interesting for once?"

"So you want interesting, huh?"

Elise gasped and jumped from her seat. She looked back and found Erazor standing in the middle of the group of defeated guards. Underneath his arm was the glass sphere, the Heart of Nix.

"Who are you?" The advisor asked shakily.

"I am Erazor Djinn." Erazor announced. "A founding member of the Dark Rulers."

"I heard of you." Elise said bravely; the adviser cowardly abandoned ship. "Jet warned me about you. What do you want?"

"I originally intended to take this city by force." Erazor grinned wickedly. "But since you wanted something interesting, it would only be courteous of me to provide it."

Erazor lifted the Heart of Nix to the air and started chanting ominously. Suddenly, the calm ocean began swirling and lashing in every direction before coming together in one solitary place. Slowly, the water began to rise over the city, forming into the shape of a monstrous beast. It's body looked similar to that of a dinosaur, but the head resembled a piranha.

"What have you done?" Elise gasped.

"This is the true power of Nix." Erazor said proudly. "And with it, this city will belong to Lord Nazo."

"Wanna bet on it!"

Out of nowhere, a massive red laser beam flew out and exploded at the water demons leg. The demon's leg evaporated from the blast, sending the monster crashing back into the ocean. Erazor easily recognized the attack from yesterday and looked to the roof of the buildings to see Armand. The purple tiger bounced off the roof and landed on the boat between Erazor and Elise.

"Don't you ever know when to quit?" Erazor asked irritably.

"Sorry, that's really not my style." Armand smirked, looking back to Elise. "Don't worry, princess. I won't let anything happen to you."

"And how do you intend to defeat me?" Erazor questioned.

"Hey, I already beat your little sea monster." Armand pointed.

"Oh, did you now?" Erazor grinned.

All of a sudden, a tendril of water emerged from the ocean and grasped Armand by his ankle. Armand was lifted upside-down into the air and watched as the water demon resurrected itself; its leg repaired. Armand tried to reach for his watch, but the water demon had already flung him across the city and into the city central plaza. Armand crashed into the fountain, sending the surrounding citizens into a panic. While the civilians scattered in random directions, the water demon made its approach. Erazor grabbed Elise and dragged her to the roof of a nearby building to watch the fight. The water demon swung down its claw, but Armand pressed a button on his watch. The button activated a booster that allowed the tiger to move quicker. Armand effortlessly dodged the demon's attacks, but did not see where he was going until he hit a wall.

"I'm going to feel that one in the morning." Armand groaned.

"Please, stop this!" Elise pleaded to the djinn.

"You can save your sobs." Erazor said. "It is only a matter of time until the darkness envelopes this city." Erazor holds out the Heart of Nix to the water demon. "Now, my servant, send this feline to the next world!"

The water demon, bound by the powers of the Heart of Nix, willingly obeyed the evil genie. The monster gazed down at its prey and snapped its frozen teeth on Armand. Just when it seemed over, a miniature tornado appeared out of nowhere in Armand's defense. As the tornado passed by, the water demon found all of it's frozen teeth cut clean. As it landed, the tornado disappeared and Howl was found with his sword held out.

"Strike of Bushido: Air Cut!" Howl yelled.

"What is this?!" Erazor exclaimed.

Before he realized it, Rector came up and kicked Erazor to the side of the face. The dark genie was sent crashing into the ground while Marine pulled the princess to safety. Back with Armand, Raine flew up to him and forced a vial of green liquid down his throat. A moment later, Armand found himself completely rejuvenated.

"Whoa, now that has some kick!" Armand said eagerly.

"Heads up, guys." Rector said, landing between the two. "We're not out of the woods yet."

True to his word, Erazor crawled out of the pit Rector made for him; the Heart of Nix clutched in his hand.

"You filthy creatures have pestered me long enough!" Erazor yelled furiously, holding the glass sphere to the water monster. "Hear me, my servant! Obey your master's wishes and kills those who dare hinder me!"

The water demon roared in obedience and brought down its claws upon its prey. Rector and Raine jumped in one direction as Armand went the other. The techno tiger flipped backwards and pressed a button on his watch that formed a blue laser sword from his wrist. At the same time, Howl glanced at Armand, both coming to a silent agreement. Armand raced forward and cut one of the legs, attracting the demons attention. As the water demon reached back with its claw, Howl came up and cut the claw down the middle. Howl crouched down to let Armand jump of and run up the demon's arm. Armand took a swing at the demon's head and cut across its face. Unfortunately, when Armand landed, both swordsmen found that the demon regenerated all the wounds they created.

"What?!" Armand groaned loudly. "After all that, we did nothing?!"

"It is made of water." Howl stated. "I didn't really expect it to do anything."

"Then why did we do it in the first place?!" Armand screamed.

"Don't worry, mates!" Marine yelled as she ran back. "You captain is back to save the day!"

"Your not our captain!" Team Virtex roared.

"Geez, tough crowd." Marine muttered.

Using what little skills she knew, Marine shot two green orbs directly into the demon's eye. The monster wasn't affected by the feeble attack, but found it to be irritating. The water demon shifted its gaze to the raccoon that attacked him and opened its mouth to release a torrent of rushing water. Marine knew she wouldn't be fast enough to avoid it. Luckily, Armand came to the rescue and carried Marine out from the danger.

"You ok?" Armand asked kindly.

"Thanks, mate." Marine smiled. "I guess you not a loud-mouthed, Tony the Tiger wannabe like Rector said."

"WHAT DID HE CALL ME?!" Armand roared furiously.

But Marine had no time to go into further details as the water demon loomed over them. It snapped its refrozen jaws down on both of them, but suddenly stopped short. It's head turned back to its tail and found Rector holding it back by sheer strength.

"You are getting way too personal." Rector strained.

Much to Armand's amazement, Rector took a firm grip on the water demon's tail and flung the monster over his shoulder. The red hedgehog threw the beast down to the ground, flooding the city streets within a five mile radius. Howl stood at the top of a flag pole, Raine flew over the water, and Marine stood on Armand's head and he swam to the nearest roof top.

"I think I'll wait on the chat with Rector for a while." Armand said, pulling himself out of the water.

Armand shook his fur loose of any water as Rector leapt across the roof tops toward them.

"Is everyone ok?" Rector asked courteously.

"A little wet, but we're ok, mate." Marine said cheerfully.

"Especially since I did all the swimming." Armand grimaced. "And I don't even like swimming."

"We better get to the palace to make sure the princess is ok." Rector suggested.

"I believe you have other matters to deal with."

It was Armand who was the first to discover Erazor's sudden appearance as the dark djinn appeared in front of him. Since Armand was the one who annoyed him the most, he was Erazor's first target. He whipped out his razor blade and swung it across Armand's chest. Armand flinched from the pain when he realized something: the blade never touched him. It only took a moment before he noticed that Rector had jumped in front of him to take the hit.

"What did you do that for?" Armand gasped.

"Don't sound so ungrateful." Rector joked. "I don't know why I did it, but I just felt I had to."

"But you could die." Armand said fearfully.

"I'm not afraid." Rector coughed. "Just make sure to take care of Marine."

Rector fell backward, but Armand caught him before hit the cement. Marine was enraged at the genie for attacking her friend and started swiping at his wildly. Unfortunately, she was too short and weak; Erazor held out his foot to keep her back. But Armand to the blow the hardest. It brought back painful memories of his father.

"_When dad died, I made a promise I wouldn't let that happen to anyone else._" Armand thought. "_I'm not going to break that promise._"

"Stop your sniveling, feline." Erazor cackled. "This is only the beginning of your troubles." Erazor held out the Heart of Nix, commanding the water to reform into the water demon. "Now, my servant, finish him!"

"The water demon complied and swiped at Armand and the fallen hedgehog. Armand pressed a button on his watch and jumped away at swift speed. As Armand continually dodged the beasts claws while carry Rector, he began to think. The water demon would regenerate after every attack, making it impossible to defeat. And Erazor was in complete control as long as he held the Heart of Nix. What a minute...That's it!

"I only got one shot at this." Armand muttered, grabbing Rector by the scruff of his neck. "Sorry about this, buddy." Suddenly, Armand tossed Rector into the air and reached for a button on his watch. "MEGA LASER!!"

Like the times before, the watch ejected a massive red laser beam. The water demon was unaffected by the laser and willingly allowed it to phase through its body.

"Haven't you learned by now!" Erazor laughed. "Your weapons cannot defeat my servant."

"Who said I was aiming for your pet." Armand grinned.

Erazor stared at the tiger in confusion before he realized what he meant. The laser that phased through the demon was meant for him, more specifically, the Heart of Nix. Armand caught Rector and made a quick grab for Marine before the blast hit. As the laser made contact with the Heart of Nix, the glass sphere and crystal exploded into a thousands pieces. The water demon groaned in pain before reverting to its original form, floor the city streets again. Armand landed not far from the blast and noticed a black cloud escaping from the explosion.

"He got away." Armand growled.

"But at least you saved the day." Marine said cheerfully.

"Yeah, I guess I did." Armand smiled. "_Dad, I hope your proud of me._"

"_I am, son._" A voice replied.

A few hours later, the city workers were removing the last of the running water from the streets. Thanks to the random monster attack and city flood, Elise was forced to cancel her trip to South Island. Elise tried to act disappointed, but there was no hiding her joy. She was so happy that she paid Team Virtex in gold; Rector nearly had a heart attack. Armand was out near the dock, watching as the sun set across the horizon. Team Virtex, including the bandaged Rector, walked up to him.

"So, got any ideas on what you're going to do next?" Raine asked.

"I'm not really sure." Armand said honestly. "I guess I'll just go look for my friends, Axel and Basil."

"If you ever need a place to stay, our door is always open." Howl stated.

Armand nodded in appreciation. He turned his gaze to Rector, who stared back. For a moment, it looked like the two were ready for another round. But then the held out their hands and shook them respectively. As Rector pulled his hand away, Armand found a silver medal in his hand. It had Rector's kanji's, Strength and Heart, tattooed into the metal.

"What's this?" Armand asked.

"Consider it a membership badge." Rector said. "From now on, you are an official member of Team Virtex."

"Hey, thanks, man." Armand grinned happily.

"You better come back soon, mate." Marine said.

"Don't worry, we'll see each other again soon." Armand stated. "After all, it's never really good-bye."

Armand walked past the group, waving his hand to them. Team Virtex returned the wave, knowing that Armand would come back to visit someday.

* * *

The scene alters to quaint little land of South Island. It was nighttime, so no one could see the Heartless serpent, Naga, slithering his way along the beach. It's been fifteen years since he had set foot on this Island and it brought back so many memories. Naga stopped suddenly near the lapping waves and hissed in the cruelest fashion.

"Did you intend to kill me when I wasn't looking?" Naga hissed.

Naga's gaze shifted over his shoulder and stared at the newcomer. He was a black hedgehog with raggedy brown going up his limbs and quills. His pitch black eyes were enough to scare even Mephiles. He wore white gloves, three different belts: red, blue, and green; and white boots with blue outlines. Attached to his belt numerous different colored rings.

"Why did you call me here?" The hedgehog questioned seriously.

"I am in need of your assistance." Naga hissed. "I simply need you to do me a little job."

"Forget it." The hedgehog spat. "I have other matters to deal with."

"Still searching for your light?" Naga chuckled. "I wouldn't think it would be that difficult to find one rat."

"What do you know?" The hedgehog glared.

"If you want to find your light, you'll have to do as I say." Naga hissed. "I helped you escape from that prison, but I can also help put you back. Do you think you can exist, knowing that he is using your darkness for all the wrong purposes?"

"What do you want, Naga?" The hedgehog growled.

"Patience." Naga said pleasingly. "Your time will come soon enough, Orion."

* * *

**A new friend joins Team Virtex: Armand! Will Armand ever return to Team Virtex? What is Naga's latest plan? And who is the mysterious Orion? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Plase, read and review.**


	58. Island Insanity

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Damian © SlashBandicoot43  
Genesis © Blue-Kaous  
Pokemon © Nintendo

Chapter Fifty-Eight: Island Insanity

The scene opens up to the birthplace of the legendary Sonic the Hedgehog, South Island. Most of the island was covered by a large town, but in the center of the island stood a large castle that belonged to the royal family. Inside the castle, an aged stag wearing formal garbs was making his way to the throne room, grumbling under his breath. As he walked down the hallway, two guards, who were lazing around, quickly ran past the stag to guard the door to the throne room.

"Let me through." The stag commanded. "I must see the queen about an important matter."

"Uh...why do you need to see her?" The first guard asked fearfully.

"With the Princess of Soleanna canceling the meeting, our plans are out of order." The stag stated. "That is why it is my job as the Royal Adviser to sort this matter out with the queen."

"But she's had a long day." The second guard excused. "You know, with all the ruling and being queen..."

"She ran off again, didn't she?" Stag questioned dully.

"Yeah." The first guard answered.

"Pretty much." The second guard nodded.

"So where is she?!" The stag yelled.

* * *

"CANNONBALL!!"

The scene alters to the beach of South Island. Everyone loved to visit the beach, and this newest character was no exception. He was a 15 year-old dog with golden fur and two bangs sticking from his forehead. He was Damien, soldier-in-training and adoptive son of Lucario. Damian was soon joined by another character. It was a little blue hedgehog no older than four with seven dangling quills that looked like dreadlocks. It was Steam the Hedgehog, second son of Gale and Aleena and brother to Sonic.

"Hah! I beat you!" Stream gloated.

"That's because you're so heavy." Damien retorted.

"Am not!" Stream cried, throwing his fists at Damien.

"Stream, don't hurt the poor puppy!"

The voice had belonged to a violet hedgehog with long flowing hair, currently wearing a pure-white bikini that was attracting a lot of attention. It was the queen of South Island, Aleena the Hedgehog. Right now, every male on the beach would be on Aleena, if not her trusted bodyguard, Lucario.

"I'm not puppy!" Damien yelled. "I am a respected warrior!"

"By who?" Aleena smirked.

"Uh..."Damien hummed. "Give me a minute, it'll come to me."

"We don't think we can wait a century." Aleena laughed.

"Haha!" Stream laughed. "She got ya!"

"Did not!" Damien shouted, splashing the hedgehog.

Stream started splashing back at the hound until it became a full-blown splash war. Aleena giggled at the children's antics, particularly Damien's level of maturity. Being Lucario's adopted son, you would think he would be more strict.

"I'm not sure this is such a good idea, my queen." Lucario commented. "Shouldn't you be back at the castle, doing your duties?"

"What duties?" Aleena grinned. "With Elise canceling on us, we have a whole week to ourselves."

"But, you majesty..."

"Lucario." Aleena said, lying back. "You are Captain of the Guard, not my adviser. You should take a lesson from Damien and learn to relax."

Lucario grunted, not at all pleased by the comment. Back in the water, Stream and Damien was still splashing, with Damien having the advantage. Suddenly, Stream splashed again, this time creating a large wave that sent Damien crashing back to the other side of the beach. Regaining his senses, Damien found himself lying in the sand; a little girl staring at him.

"Man, that kid sure can hit." Damien groaned.

"Get away from my baby!"

All of a sudden, a random woman runs up and grabs her child into her arms. Before he realized it, the father came up slammed his fist to the side of Damien's face. Damien was thrown back into the sand; hatred brimming from his eyes.

"What the hell was that for?" Damien growled.

"You stay away from our child, monster."

"I wasn't doing anything to the kid." Damien stated.

"Like we're supposed to believe that!" The woman spat. "Ever since you were born, you've been nothing but trouble to the island! Why don't you just crawl back to whatever hole you came from and die!"

It was always the same; Damien was ostracized by the people he had sworn to protect. Sometime, the pain became too much for him. Damien's dark eyes became demonic red and bared his fangs at the family. The family saw this and ran away, screaming. Damien was prepared to chase after them when suddenly; he lost control of his own body. His arms were forced together, his knees buckled, and he was forced into a kneeling position in the sand. As all this happened, an new figure approached him.

"Genesis." Damien growled.

The one called Genesis was a crimson hedgehog with seven quills that pointed in different directions and his bangs covering his right eye. He wore black shoes with crimson buckles, black fingerless gloves, and a black heart necklace. Genesis was holding out his hands like a puppeteer, controlling Damien's body.

"I thought that you might lose your cool." Genesis smirked. "But this makes it way too easy."

"What are you doing here?" Damien asked.

"Lucario thought you might go out of control again." Genesis explained. "Since I have the ability of bloodbending, it's very easy for me to control you when you start to lose it. There is a reason why I'm second-in-command of the Guard."

"My own father doesn't trust me?" Damien asked sadly.

"You don't exactly have a clean record." Genesis said tauntingly, releasing the golden hound. "So, are you going to go back peacefully, or am I gonna have to drag your tail back...again."

"Yeah, laugh it up!" Damien shouted. "I'll be my revenge yet."

"That's what you said the last seventy-two time!" Genesis laughed.

Damien tried to come up with a comeback, but his brain was empty, as usual. Damien sighed and bowed his head in defeat, following the crimson hedgehog. When they returned, Aleena was already dressed in her ceremonial white robe and Stream was wearing gloves and shoes similar to Sonic's. Damien had also grabbed his cloths, too. He wore black and white sneakers, black jeans, and a black bandanna on his left wrist.

"Is everyone ready to go?" Lucario questioned.

"Yeah." Everyone replied dully.

"Do we have to leave?" Stream asked cutely.

"Aww, don't worry, Stream." Aleena smiled. "We'll come back tomorrow. That is, if old iron-paws doesn't rat us out."

"Oh, she nailed you on that one." Damien chuckled.

"Whatever." Lucario sneered; Damien flinched. "Let's just get back to the castle."

Lucario, much to everyone's dismay, led the group away from the beach towards the flowered path that led the castle. Aleena was disappointed that she was forced to get back to work, Stream was disappointed that he wasn't going to spend more time with his mother, and Genesis was disappointed that he hadn't buried Damien yet. Damien was the only one not disappointed; only sad. He could still vividly remember the hatred looks from both the adults he met. Both looked at him as if he were a virus; it was always the same.

"_Why can't they just let it go?_" Damien thought. "_It happened over five years ago. I'm not like that anymore._"

"Hey, mutt, wake up!" Genesis snapped.

"Say wha?" Damien mumbled.

All of a sudden, Damien found himself tackled to the ground by Lucario. Aleena grabbed her son protectively as Genesis suddenly stood guard. Damien was beyond confused, but what else is new? He soon found out why when several strange creatures dropped from the sky. The creatures were white and purple that took the shape of spiked dragons, each carrying a sharp lance. Lucario jumped to his feet and confronted the creatures.

"Who are you?" Lucario questioned. The creatures made no reply. "As Captain of the Guard, I order you to answer."

"They won't talk. The Dragoons aren't exactly the social type." Suddenly, a portal of darkness appeared and the mysterious hedgehog, Orion, was formed into existence. "All thought, Nobodies don't usually socialize."

"Who the hell are you?" Genesis questioned.

"And when was the last time you washed?" Damien asked, covering his nose.

"That's you, idiot." Orion replied. "And for those of you who don't know, my name is Orion."

"Well, Orion, what do you want?" Lucario questioned cautiously.

"Not much." Orion shrugged. "I heard the royal family was in town and I just decided to drop by."

"If you want to get to them, you'll have to go through us." Genesis said.

"That doesn't sound too difficult." Orion smirked, holding up his hand. "Dragoons attack!"

Orion waved his hand forward, sending the Dragoons to follow in his direction. Damien was eager to get into battle, but the minute he tried to fight, Lucario jumped in. He held his paws close and summoned a blue aura sphere, which he used to repel the Dragoon.

"Hey, that one was mine!" Damien yelled.

"Genesis and I will take care of this." Lucario stated, fighting off another Dragoon. "You take the queen and the prince back to the castle."

"But..."

"As you father, I order you to listen!" Lucario growled.

Damien wasn't happy about being pushed from a fight, but was not willing to go against his father's orders. Damien quickly grabbed Aleena by the wrist and started running off in the direction of the castle; Orion looked pleased.

"This is becoming too easy." Orion said.

While Lucario and Genesis weren't looking, Orion vanished in a portal of darkness. Back in the fight, the Dragoons were becoming difficult to fight with their erratic movements. They were able to bend their bodies in impossible angles and even sometimes disappear. Lucario tried attacking with his Aura Sphere, but the Dragoons merely bended their bodies out of the way. This tactic forced Lucario to revert to hand-to-hand combat. Lucario gathered a strong amount our aura into his palms and charged headlong after them. Meanwhile, with Genesis, the crimson hedgehog was doing his best not to be skewered. He managed to stay alive long enough to jump away from the group. He held out his hands and tried to control them like he did Damien. But something was wrong.

"This isn't right." Genesis said frightfully. "I can't use bloodbending on them. I can't sense a single trace of blood within them. It's as if they don't have any life in them"

"That must be why they are called Nobodies." Lucario grunted, pushing away a Dragoon. "They don't have any real bodies."

"Well, that kinda ruins the fun." Genesis pouted.

As the Dragoon's dived at him once again, Genesis back flipped until he was standing in the middle of the flower field. Though surrounded by seven Dragoons, Genesis never felt more invincible. With a confident smirk on his face, Genesis raised his hands swiftly to the sky. Suddenly, the flowers around him started to wilt, but the water They contained now floated above Genesis. With a flick of his wrist, Genesis turned the water to ice and shot sharp icicles at the Nobodies. Unfortunately, the Dragoons were too fast and easily dodged the attack. The Dragoon's continued their assault, forcing Lucario and Genesis back-to-back.

"I think I liked these guys better when I didn't know them." Genesis chuckled lightly.

"I never liked them at all." Lucario replied. "But at the least, Damien got away with the queen."

"Yeah, and get to die for it. How lucky of us." Genesis said sarcastically.

"There's one thing I won't miss when I'm dead." Lucario muttered.

All the Dragoons formed into one circle and held their lances out to the duo. But just as they were about to attack, they disappeared as quickly as they came.

"Uh...did we win?" Genesis asked.

"I have no idea." Lucario replied.

"Lucario! Genesis!"

Lucario and Genesis turned at the voice coming down the path and saw Queen Aleena running to them. She ran up to Lucario and clinged to him for support; her eyes filled with tears.

"Your majesty, what happened?" Lucario questioned fearfully.

"That man, Orion." Aleena chocked. "He came and took Stream away. Damien tried to stop him, but he was too powerful."

"Don't worry, Aleena." Lucario said kindly; this was one of rare times Lucario called her by her name. "We'll hunt this monster down and make him pay for what he has done."

"Thank you." Aleena nodded.

"Now I have a question." Genesis piped. "Where's Damien?"

* * *

The scene returns to the beach. The loving beachgoers were driven into a panicked frenzy as the Dragoons made their appearance and started gathering everyone. Not far from the captured group, Orion sat on one of the larger rocks, taking pleasure in their screams. Stream was captured by the dark hedgehog, who retained a firm grip on his small wrist. Stream struggled to break free; Orion noticed the ocean waters lapping wildly.

"Let go! Let go!" Stream cried.

"Not a chance, brat." Orion said lowly. "But don't worry, once I'm done here, you won't ever see me again."

"Let me go!" Stream screamed. "Mommy! I want my mommy!"

"Quiet, you impudent rodent!" Orion yelled, backhanding Stream in the face. "I've had enough of your mouth."

"Ok, that goes too far!"

Orion was startled for a moment, looking back to find Damien diving at him. Orion tossed Steam to the sand for a moment and fell backwards with his feet held upwards. Unfortunately, Orion pushed his feet up and tossed Damien overhead. The golden hound was tossed backwards into the water. Stream tried to make his escape, but Orion quickly grasped the child by his ankle and lifted him into the air. Damien tried to crawl back to the beach, but Orion easily kicked him back. There was a lot of noise coming down the beach. Damien looked over and found the crowd of capture residences shouting something. They seemed to be cheering...for Orion.

"Kill him!" One screamed.

"Finish him off!" Another yelled.

"You don't seem to be very popular around here." Orion sniggered. "I wonder if I should give the crowd what they want."

"You can't beat Damien!" Stream proclaimed. "Damien is like my big brother: no one can beat him!"

"I've getting sick and tired of listening to you!" Orion yelled furiously.

Orion flipped Stream over and grasped the child by his head. He tightened his grip on the little boys head, causing him to cry out in pain. Getting annoyed, Orion threw Stream face-first into the sand. Damien was now beyond pissed; a growl emitting from his throat.

"Don't touch him." Damien growled.

"What was that?" Orion questioned.

"I said...don't touch him!" Damien roared.

All of a sudden, a black aura engulfed Damien's body, catching the dark hedgehog off guard. The captured residents cowered in fear, remembering the incident that happened five years ago. Stream pushed himself out of the sand and stared curiously at what happened to Damien. As the dark aura disappeared, Damien had become a black wolf with a yellow crescent moon tattooed on his forehead and enlarged purple claws.

"Damien?" Stream asked curiously.

"Sorry, rat." Damien growled sinisterly. "The name's Nightshade."

"I get it now." Orion nodded. "I've heard word that everyone feared you and now I find out why."

"God, it was cramped in the small brain of his." Nightshade groaned, stretching his muscles. "It's been five years since I've been out. I can't only break free when Damien is angry enough to allow a window of opportunity. After what happened last time, Lucario made sure Damien never left the castle again. I'll have to kill that mutt later."

"You sound confident." Orion grimaced. "Does that mean you believe you can beat me?"

"I don't have to believe." Nightshade grinned. "I'll just need to rip you in half."

Orion was caught off guard as Nightshade suddenly reappeared in front of him. Unlike Damien, Nightshade held no concerns for Stream and knocked the tiny child out of his hands. As Stream flopped across the sandy beach, Orion barely had time to realize that Nightshade had attacked. The demonic hound thrust his claws through Orion's chest and exited out the other side. Orion grunted in pain and began to cough up blood, but Nightshade was far from done. Damien retracted his claw and started spinning in place like a black tornado. Trapped inside the whirlwind, Orion suffered the painful stabs from Nightshade's claws piercing his skin. Nightshade ended the attack; Orion fell to the ground in a whimpering heap. Nightshade's eyes wandered to the captured resident's; they flinched from his glare.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it?!" Nightshade yelled to them. "Nearly five years, right?!"

The Dragoons saw their master in pain and dived to defend him. But Nightshade didn't like the idea. He held out his claws and suddenly ejected a wave of black flames that devoured the Nobodies. Orion was just getting to his knees when he found Nightshade looming over him, black flames in hand.

"So, what are you waiting for?" Orion groaned. "Finish me."

"With pleasure." Nightshade grinned.

"NO!!" Suddenly, Stream jumped in front of Nightshade. "Don't do it!"

"Get out of the way, rat." Nightshade growled.

"No!" Stream shook. "I know Damien would never do this. He was always nice and fun and loved to play with me. He was my first and best friend. What happened to him?"

Somehow, those words seemed to strike Nightshade at his core. Suddenly, the dark wolf grunted with a pain emitting from his chest; Damien was breaking free. Nightshade tried to suppress it as much as he could, but it didn't work. Damien's fur returned to its normal golden shade and his black aura faded from existence. Damien fell to his knees and panted; Stream hugged him for comfort.

"Thanks, Stream." Damien muttered.

"No problem." Stream smiled.

"What a pathetic sentiment." Orion chuckled. "You'll regret not finishing me."

At that moment, Orion reached for his belt and tapped a green ring. Suddenly, his fur turned temporarily green, healed all his injuries, and returned back to its dark shade. He tapped another ring, blue, and his fur turned a similar color. Orion quickly jumped to his feet and held his hand to the ocean. All of a sudden, a pillar of water arose from the ocean and struck down on our heroes. Damien pushed Stream to safety and took the full blow. The water pillar pushed Damien into a rock and nearly cracked his spine. Using what little senses he had, Damien opened his eyes and found Orion with the water surrounding him.

"Not so tough, now are you?" Orion smirked.

"Now what?" Damien asked hoarsely.

"Now, we put an end to this." Orion grinned. Orion threw his hands forward, commanding the water to crash down on Damien. But just as it was about to hit, it suddenly stopped in midair. "What is this?!"

"You will not harm him."

The two fighters looked over and found that the voice came from Stream, but something was different. Stream's eyes were blank and his expression was serious. With a flick of his wrists, Stream commanded the waters to repel from Damien and aim towards their original master. Already obtaining what he came for, Orion disappeared in a portal of darkness before the attack struck. Once the attack was over, Stream fainted. Luckily, Lucario showed up just in time to catch him. Genesis and Aleena followed shortly.

"What happened?" Aleena asked, taking her son into her arms.

"Not sure." Damien shrugged. "The kid just snapped and started fighting. He was great, too"

"It's a miracle he isn't hurt." Genesis stated.

"So that's it!" One of the tourists yelled. "You're just going to let that monster get away!"

"We don't know where Orion vanished to." Lucario explained. "But we'll find him soon enough."

"Not him!" Another shouted. "We're talking about that monster of a mutt!"

"Hey!" Genesis yelled angrily. "Damien just saved your worthless lives! You should be thanking him!"

"Let it go, Genesis." Damien said sadly.

"But..."

"He's right." Lucario stated. "I've taught Damien that you can't change the world all at once. You have to reach to their hearts and make them see the truth, one step at a time."

"And I think a great first step would be getting back to the castle." Aleena said. "Wow, never thought I would say that."

"You finally learning, your majesty." Lucario joked.

"Oh, now he has jokes!" Genesis laughed.

Lucario walked in front of the group, not wanting them to see the embarrassed look on his face. Aleena held her protectively in her arms as Genesis started cracking jokes at every possible opportunity. There was a benefit to having him around. Damien began to follow, but felt something tugging at his leg. He looked down and saw the same little girl from earlier. She smiled happily at him and gave him a flower she recently picked. Damien was taken back, but gladly accepted.

"You're my hero, Damien." The girl giggled.

Damien was shocked, but happy. As the little girl skipped away, Damien stared down at the flower. After a few minutes of thinking, Damien tucked it into his wrist-bandanna for preservation. Lucario was right. He would make the world see the true him, one step at a time.

* * *

The scene changes to midnight in the forest outside the castle walls. Naga and his faithful follower, Kai, were standing between the trees, gazing at the castle. Suddenly, a portal of darkness emerged behind them with Orion appearing in its place.

"It took you long enough." Kai said monotone. "Lord Naga has a limit on patients."

"Well, excuse me." Orion glared. "I had some issues to work out before coming here."

"Did you get the job done?" Naga questioned.

"Yeah, right here." Orion said.

Orion reached into his belts and pulled out four different cards and tossed them to Naga. The venomous serpent caught them and stared with intrigue. On each of the cards was a picture of Lucario, Damien, Genesis, and Stream with stats and other information under their pictures.

"So, these are the strongest warriors in the castle." Kai questioned; Orion nodded.

"Ah, Lucario." Naga hissed, staring at the blue jackal's picture. "I haven't seen him since he was a pup. He has certainly improved over the years." Naga changed to Genesis' card. "Ah, so this boy is a waterbander. I thought they had died out over a thousand years ago. He could be a nuisance with that bloodbending." He changes to Damien's card. "Ah, if it isn't Damien."

"You know him?" Orion questioned.

"During my days as a Heartless soldier, I came across a creature called Jenova." Naga explained. "I was fascinated by her powers and took a blood sample for myself. I returned here and began to experiment with Jenova's blood, implanting it within one hundred children. All of them died except for one."

"Damien." Kai stated.

"He was only a year old at the time, but I saw potential." Naga hissed. "Unfortunately, my lab was raided and Lucario took my prize away. I haven't seen him since." He turns to the final card, Stream's. "So, my theory was proven true."

"Theory?" Orion repeated.

"I heard rumors during my days as a soldier." Naga explained. "They would often speak of an ancient warrior named Stream that once defended the world of Parasiden. Though many have forgotten him, the darkness never forgets. When I heard that Aleena bared a child named Stream, I came to the conclusion that he was the reincarnation of that warrior. But to prove my theory, I needed someone to test his power. That's where you came in, Orion."

"So, you just used me as a puppet?" Orion growled.

"Precisely." Naga hissed.

Orion was outrage and made a dive for the snake, his palms holding a mass of dark energy. Just when he was in reach of the serpent, Kai suddenly appeared and blocked the attack with his three-pronged knife. Kai kicked the dark hedgehog back and held him by the throat against a tree. They would have continued the fight, but Naga interfered.

"That's enough, Kai." Naga commanded.

Kai nodded and released Orion, who pushed himself back to his feet.

"I've had enough of this, Naga." Orion sneered. "I have questions and you have answers. Where is my light? Where is Gemini?"

* * *

**When you have friends, you are never alone. Will Damien make peace with his people? Will Orion find Gemini? And what is Naga's true intentions with the warriors? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**

**Note: This is the last of the OC Arc. If you wish to particpate with your OC, you must wait until Hybrid's Wrath. This story and future chapters are dedicated to Kiba Sniper. "Let Freedom Reign!"**


	59. Descend to Darkness

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Tomo the Chameleon © Kiba Sniper.

Note: This is the start of the Project: Hellzone Arc

Chapter Fifty-Nine: Descent to Darkness

The scene opens up in the market square of Station Square. Unlike the mall, the market square was known for selling the most unusual items on stock. Team Virtex was back, finally, but were scattered for the moment. Marine and Raine decided to go on a trip to Emerald Beach, Howl was meeting with a visiting friend, and Rector was currently shopping for the team. The team leader had already collected food and other supplies the rest of the team needed; Rector crossed off Marine's boat from the list. He was currently standing in apothecary; gathering medical supplies for Raine.

"Balm root powder, garlic cloves, and jasmine leaves." The merchant checked off. "Do you need anything else?"

"That's all for now." Rector said, handing him the money. "See ya next week, Stan."

"Later, Rector." Stan waved. "Give my regards to Raine."

Recter waved back as he stepped outside the shop. Rector checked his list one last time and was pleased to find that he was finished; he was still not buying Marine a boat. He just started heading back home, when, out of nowhere, he was bowled by some random object. All his purchases were scattered across the ground; Rector was pissed. He looked for something to vent out his anger and was pleased to find that the thing that hit him was a familiar blue hedgehog.

"That hurt." Sonic groaned. He felt himself being lifted up by the scruff of his neck. "Why do I get the feeling I'm in trouble."

"Do you realize what you just did?" Rector growled. "I just brought all that stuff using the money from our missions."

"I'm sorry, but I'm actually glad to see you." Sonic grinned. "I was looking for you all day."

"You...were?" Rector asked slowly, setting Sonic down. "That's strange. Normally, you're trying to get as far away from me."

"Well, this is an exception." Sonic grinned. "I need to ask you something."

"Shoot." Rector said, picking up the dropped supplies.

"Well, you know how much I like Amy, right?" Sonic said, helping the red hedgehog.

"As I recall it, you told me you love her." Rector said hotly. "But that only means I have to watch you even more."

"Come on, Rec." Sonic said; Rector fumed at the nickname. "Don't you trust me?"

"Not as far as I can throw you." Rector stated. "Which happens to be very far."

"Well, listen." Sonic said nervously. "I was thinking of asking Amy out on a date."

"And you're telling me this, why?" Rector questioned irritably.

"I know you are really protective of Amy." Sonic grinned, remembering the painful memories. "But I was hoping that you would give me permission to go out with her tonight. It's very important that you say yes."

"Why's that?" Rector asked interestingly.

"Today's the same day I first met Amy on Little Planet." Sonic explained. "This is the day Amy first said she loved me, so I want to make it special. I'm going to tell her I love her, too. But that's only if you let me."

"Sonic." Rector said slowly. "Amy loves you with all her heart and soul. And if you are the one thing that makes her truly happy, I won't interfere." Sonic sighed; Rector turned angry. "But if anything happens during the date, I will make sure you never have any children."

"I promise, nothing will happen, sir!" Sonic saluted.

Even Rector couldn't resist, he started chuckling at Sonic's expression. Realizing this, Sonic joined in for a short while before racing back to the base. Sonic was overjoyed with happiness. This was the day he would finally be with his love.

* * *

The scene alters to the castle of the Dark Rulers dimension. Nazo sat at his throne; the board he created was present. Black Doom's figure had long departed from the castle and was currently missing from the board. Nazo suspected he created a base somewhere in space, where the board couldn't track him. The Dark Rulers figures were gathered in the castle and the Heroes were scattered; Sonic's figure was zipping across the board. Just then, Erazor Djinn, Tomo, and Nack appeared before their master.

"What do you have to report?" Nazo questioned.

"I have recovered two of the Seven World Rings." Erazor stated. "But the other five elude me. Jet the Hawk knew what he was doing when he hid them."

"Then keep searching." Nazo glared. "I will not accept anymore failures." He turns to Tomo. "And what do you have?"

"We've received word from Mephiles' dark birds that there is a third enemy." Tomo informed. "Not known is much about this group, but they seem to gathering around South Island under a man called Naga."

"Naga..." Nazo said thoughtfully. "That name seems familiar." He looks to Nack. "And you, Nack."

"I was going to go get some tacos." Nack claimed. "Want some?" Nazo blasted the weasel. "I'll take that as a no."

"Idiot." Tomo muttered

"At least we'll never get bored." Erazor shrugged.

"Lord Nazo." The four turned and found Mephiles, obviously with Shira, entering the room. "I have been looking through the celestial charts. The winter solstice is nearly upon us."

"That's good news." Nazo grinned.

"But we have a problem." Shira stated nervously.

"Problem?" Nazo repeated.

"If you plan to go through with Project: Hellzone, we need more power." Shira informed. "We were relying on Black Doom's help, but without him, it won't work."

"So, the Dark Rulers need to grow in their ranks." Nazo said, stepping down from his throne. "It would normally be difficult find someone that can match Black Doom in terms of power. Luckily for us, I have found the perfect candidate."

* * *

The scene changes an hour later to the world famous theme park, Twinkle Park. Amy would die from happy knowing she was going on a date there, especially with Sonic the Hedgehog. Unfortunately, the couple's admission expired a long time ago, and Sonic held a funeral for his wallet. Amy was happily marching through the park, dragging along a depressed Sonic.

"Aw, cheer up, Sonic." Amy said cheerfully. "At least we got inside."

"But two hundred dollars for each ticket!" Sonic exclaimed furiously. "That's a total rip-off!"

"Come on, Sonic." Amy pouted. "You promised me a special date."

"Oh, it's going to be special, all right." Sonic grinned, wrapping his arm around Amy. "It was three years ago on this day that I met someone that changed my life forever."

"Changed your life?" Amy said intrigued. She began to think back to the incident three years ago until. "Oh, you mean Metal."

"Uh...no." Sonic sweat-dropped. "I was talking about you, Amy."

"Me?" Amy said, blushing.

"Ever since I met you, thinks have always been more exciting." Sonic said brightly. "Sure, you were a bit annoying, stubborn, uptight, and aggressive at times, but you get used to it after a while."

"Thanks, I feel so loved." Amy said sarcastically.

"Come on, Ames." Sonic said. "Let's make this the best day ever."

Amy grinned from ear to ear and followed her blue hero farther into the park. For the rest of the day, there was nothing but rides, rollercoaster's, and entertainment for our loving couple. They would occasionally stop for either food or when one needed to throw up. On one ride, Sonic hurled his lunch, which caused another passenger to hurl and so on. They thought it was time to take a break from the ride. They stopped by the game stands, where Sonic won Amy a little chao doll. After hours of traveling through the park, the day had turned to night and the hedgehog couple was sitting on a hill in the park.

"Sonic, that was the best time I ever had." Amy said happily.

"It's not over yet." Sonic stated. "They're supposed to have fireworks tonight. I know how much you love fireworks."

"Sonic, you seem to think of everything." Amy smiled.

"I just wanted tonight to be perfect for you." Sonic said softly. "After three years of running away from you, I never really bothered to think what it would be like without you. But when you became Mach, it really got me thinking."

"I'm sorry I lied about that." Amy said sadly.

"I'm glad you did." Sonic replied; Amy stared in confusion. "If you hadn't disappeared, I never would have learned to appreciate you." He grasped Amy's hand and moved in closer. "You are the greatest thing to have ever happened to me. That's why I need to tell you the truth."

"What is it, Sonic?" Amy said breathlessly.

"Amy, I...I..." Sonic whispered.

Sonic couldn't finish his sentence, but actions speak louder than words. They both stared at one another, unknowingly pulling each other closer. Their eyes closed after one another, both feeling the warmth of their partner. Their hearts were beating erratically as the two were only inches from each other. Just as they were about to connect, there was a loud explosion coming from the park and it wasn't fireworks. They pulled away quickly and saw a massive fire erupting from the park.

"Typical." Sonic said sourly. "Just as it was getting to the good part."

Though disappointed at their most recent failed attempt, Sonic and Amy zipped down to the cause of the trouble. It was difficult to coordinate through the panicking crowd, but the duo managed to reach the source. To there surprise, it wasn't one of Nazo's monsters, but Nazo himself.

"Sonic, I was so hoping that you would show up." Nazo said malevolently.

"What do you want, Nazo!" Amy snapped. "Can't you see we're on a date?!"

"And you seem to think I care." Nazo grimaced.

"Why are you here, Nazo?" Sonic glared. "We didn't bring any Chaos or Sol Emeralds."

"I currently have no interest in the Emeralds." Nazo stated. "I am merely looking for a new recruit to bring into the fold."

"Why?" Amy asked curiously, despite herself.

"I feel that is best saved for later." Nazo said.

Suddenly, Nazo kicked off the ground and dived forward at Amy. Amy was caught off guard and was totally unprepared as Nazo loomed over her. The God of Darkness was ready to strike when Sonic, in his ball form, suddenly struck him from the side. Nazo was tossed towards the bumper cars and toppled the entire rink. Sonic uncurled and held out his arms protectively in front of Amy.

"No one hurts my girl." Sonic seethed.

"_He called me 'his' girl._" Amy thought pleasantly.

But Nazo was not one to go down that easily. The God of Darkness pushed himself through the rubble of the broken carnival rise; a series of scratches around his torso. As Nazo's minor wounds healed themselves instantly, the evil hedgehog did not seem at all upset. On the contrary, Nazo looked as if he had already won this battle.

"_It seems I have drawn his anger._" Nazo thought. _"But it doesn't seem to be enough to draw him. Look's like this is going into overtime."_

Nazo walked out of the rubble and held out his hand to summon a Chaos Lance in his open palm. The God of Darkness released the attack on the couple, but Sonic grabbed Amy and quickly rolled away. Once Amy was safe, Sonic once again donned his ball form and performed his signature Spin Dash. Nazo had anticipated Sonic's rash outburst and held out his hands to stop him. He succeeded; Sonic was spinning wildly in one place. Nazo let out and low laugh and reeled back his foot to kick the blue ball into the air. It was only after that Nazo realized great amount of chaos energy was gathering around him. Sonic uncurled himself and dived down at Nazo with his signature attack in hand.

"SONIC WIND!!" Sonic yelled.

"You really think I'm gonna fall for that trick again!?" Nazo countered.

Sonic's attack was near its target, but Nazo grasped the hedgehog by his hand, canceling the attack. Nazo grabbed Sonic by his wrist and pulled him in closer to drive his other fist into the hedgehog's gut. Sonic was sent flying and slammed into the side of the Rollercoaster structure, which toppled shortly after. Sonic was lucky not to be entirely crushed by the metal beams, but was left temporarily dazed. Nazo smirked at his accomplishment and grasped Sonic by his head, lifting him painfully in the air.

"So this is the extent of your abilities?" Nazo sneered. "And here is was hoping I wouldn't have to kill you."

"You leave my Sonic alone!" Amy screamed.

Nazo looked to the side for a moment and found Amy charging at him with her own super speed. She had already pulled out her Piko-Piko hammer and, with force and speed behind it, swung it around to claim its target. Nazo was hit dead center in the face, forcing him to let go of Sonic, and stumbled across the ground a few feet away.

"_That girl is becoming an annoyance._" Nazo thought angrily.

"Sonic, are you ok?" Amy asked hopefully, kneeling to her love.

"I'm...I'm fine." Sonic slurred, rubbing his pounding head. "Man, did anyone get the license off that truck."

"Don't worry, Sonic." Amy said confidently, her hammer in hand. "My love will save us from this monster."

"A monster, am I?"

Amy stiffed when she realized how close the voice was; Nazo was standing directly behind her. Taking whatever courage she could, the pink hedgehog grasped her hammer around tightly and took a random swing behind her. She had soon found that she had hit no one and Nazo had suddenly disappeared. She searched the park for any signs of the dark hedgehog when she realized her hammer was heavier than usual. She looked over and was gasped when she found Nazo standing on the end of her hammer. She tried to swing him off, but Nazo kicked her by the hand and forced her to let go. Nazo held Amy's hammer and swiftly snapped it in two; the hammer faded to dust.

"Not so tough without your little hammer, are you." Nazo grinned wickedly.

"Don't you dare underestimate me!" Amy exclaimed. "Wow, that sounded familiar."

Nazo was not at all intimidated by the pink hedgehog. He held out his hand for another blast of chaos energy until...

"LEAF WHIRLWIND!!"

Nazo was unaware of what happened next, but suddenly found himself being kicked in the face by a heavy force and was thrown back several yards. Amy had watched the entire thing and noticed that her brother was now protectively over her in a fighters stance.

"Sonic promised nothing would happen." Rector groaned. "Remind me to kill him later."

"Rector, what are you doing here?" Amy asked.

"I'm save your butt, that's what." Rector replied.

"No, you were spying on me and Sonic, weren't you!" Amy yelled furiously; Rector stiffened. "I knew it! You don't trust me at all, do you!"

"It's not you I don't trust." Rector replied. "It's the blue rat I don't trust."

"Sonic happens to be the perfect gentleman." Amy countered. "I bet you were watching us back on the hill, weren't you."

"And...What is if was." Rector said nervously.

"Why can't you ever trust me with Sonic!?" Amy roared. "I'm not a little girl anymore!"

"But you are my little sister!" Rector shouted back.

"Hey, guys." Sonic interrupted. "Can we worry about this later?"

The moment Sonic said that, Nazo pulled himself to his feet; his angered expression added by a large bruise. The bruise healed over swiftly, but Nazo was still furious. Using Chaos Control, Nazo transported himself only a few feet from them.

"Great, another contender." Nazo said sarcastically. "This day just gets better and better."

"I remember you." Rector said spitefully. "You're the guy who attacked the museum! You cost me ten-thousand dollars worth of damages!"

"Figures." Amy muttered. "All he can think about is money."

"Leave him to me." Rector said. "This freak owes me."

Despite the others best wishes, Rector charged in head forward without a second thought. Following the teaching he learned from the Hyuuga's, Rector remembered the anatomy of hedgehogs and pinpointed the pressure points. Nazo recognized Rector's charging stance; it was similar to the fighting style he had seen on Parasiden. Rector came close and started aiming for the pressure points in Nazo's body. But unfortunately, Nazo moved so fast that he couldn't even touch him. Rector tripped to trip him up, but Nazo kicked off the ground at the last moment.

"Stand and fight." Rector growled.

"If you insist." Nazo sniggered.

Nazo flipped in midair and held out his leg to strike Rector in the shoulder. Rector cried out in pain, losing all feeling in his left arm. Rebounding off the ground, Nazo held out his arm and slammed into Rector's neck. The red hedgehog was tossed down on the ground, gasping for any air that would circulate through his throat. With his left and throat not working properly, Rector tried to crawl back with his remaining arm. Unfortunately, Nazo stamped that idea out by crush Rector's hand with his foot.

"Going somewhere?" Nazo grinned, summoning a Chaos Lance. "You don't look so good. Perhaps I should just put you out of your misery."

"Coming through!"

All of a sudden, a blue blur zipped past Nazo, knocking him off balance. Sonic rebounded from his position and kicked off the ground for a spinning kick. Unfortunately, Nazo easily blocked it with his forearm, allowing him a chance to reach for Sonic. Luckily, Sonic reacted swiftly by kicking off of Nazo's face and landed back on his feet.

"You just don't know when to give in, do you?" Nazo said irritantly.

"I don't know the meaning of give up." Sonic said confidently.

"Do you want to borrow Tails' dictionary?" Amy asked.

"That's not what I meant!" Sonic shouted embarrassingly.

Taking advantage of Sonic's momentary distraction, Nazo summoned a horde of Chaos Spears. One ran across his leg; his fur and skin singed, and brought him back to his senses. Sonic, after many training sessions with Shadow, skillfully dodged the remaining arrows. In all the confusion, Amy pulled her brother away from any danger to recover.

"You ok?" Amy asked worried, placing Rector against a wall.

"I'm fine." Rector wheezed. "Just help Sonic." Amy turned, but Rector caught her. "And...I'm sorry I didn't trust you."

"You're my big brother." Amy smiled. "You're just looking out for me."

Rector sighed, but felt better as Amy ran into battle. Back with Sonic and Nazo, the God of Darkness was not through with his assault. Sonic was dodging every act like they were nothing, occasionally making comical gestures. Nazo was losing his patience. If Black Doom hadn't taken his Chaos Emeralds, Nazo would already be in his Hell Form, killing the rat. Seeing as that won't work, Nazo resorted back to Chaos Control. The God of Darkness stopped time temporarily, allowing him to get a closer view of his opponent. When time returned to normal, Sonic received an unexpected hit in the face from Nazo. Sonic stumbled back for a few short moments before jumping back to his feet.

"Ok, this is not one of my better days." Sonic commented.

"_Damn, this isn't work._" Nazo mentally growled. "_But I've done everything I could think of. Why isn't he appearing?"_

Nazo was suddenly brought back to reality when something slammed into the top of his head. Nazo was dazed for a moment, but for only just a moment. He turned to the source of the attack and found Amy with her Piko-Piko Hammer once again.

"How many of those do you have?" Nazo questioned.

"You'd be surprised." Amy giggled.

"You certainly annoying enough for that blue..." Nazo said, trailing off slight. Suddenly, an idea came to him. "Of course, why didn't I think of it before? If I can't fight him out, I'll use his little girlfriend instead."

"Leave her out of this!" Sonic shouted.

"She brought it upon herself!" Nazo replied.

Before Sonic or Amy even had a chance to react, Nazo unleashed a swarm of Chaos Spears upon the young girl. Amy had no experience with dealing against chaos and was left vulnerable. Sonic could only watch in horror as the thousands of arrows slashed across Amy's body; her cries mixing in with the blasts. Nazo felt satisfied and dropped the attack, watching Amy fall in a crumpled heap. Sonic easily forgot Nazo and ran to her side, holding her close to himself.

"Amy, please be all right." Sonic pleaded.

"Sonic, don't lose to him." Amy groaned painfully.

"So, are you going to fight or not?" Nazo smirked.

"I'm going to kill you." Sonic growled. "I'm seriously going to kill you!!"

"_Got him._" Nazo thought.

As Sonic gently let Amy down, a black aura began to surround him. His blue fur was suddenly becoming darker and his pupils were beginning to fade. This was Nazo's chance. Gathering a heavy amount of black chaos into his hand, Nazo jumped ahead with his hand held forward. Just as Sonic was completing his dark transformation, Nazo's hand plunged into Sonic's chest. Amazingly enough, it didn't hurt the hedgehog, nor did it tear through him. Nazo grinned and started digging around inside Sonic until he found what he was looking for. He grasped it and started ripping it out from Sonic's body. With enough force, Nazo ripped a black shadow from Sonic's chest. Suddenly, Sonic's transformation was cut off and returned him to normal.

"What...was that?" Sonic panted, dropping to his knees. "What did you do to me?"

"I have brought an end to this." Nazo stated confidently.

Nazo tossed the dark shadow to the ground and watched it spread; Sonic was curious as well. As the dark shadow became larger, it suddenly started to lift itself from the ground and take form. It resembled a pitch-black hedgehog with five spiked quills and completely blank eyes. He wore the same gloves and shoe as Sonic did. Though they had never met before, Sonic could never forget that face. The same monster that destroyed Station Square and fought Nazo in the first battle.

"Allow me to introduce the newest member of the Dark Rulers." Nazo said politely. "Dark Sonic."

"Finally, I'm free from that wretched hedgehog's heart." Dark Sonic said pleasantly. "I can go forth and spread my darkness across this world."

"You're not going anyway." Sonic grunted weakly.

"You're right." Dark Sonic said, holding out his hand. "You are."

The world suddenly became silent and the next moment shocked the world. Dark Sonic released a purple beam from his open palm, aimed for his good counterpart. Sonic tried to move out of the way, but he was still weak from Nazo's earlier attack. With nowhere to go or defend, Sonic was blasted straight through the chest. He could barely register Amy's screams or Rector's yells before he fell limp on the ground. He felt himself being lifted off the ground and looked up to find Amy, crying.

"Please, don't die, Sonic." Amy whimpered.

"You'll pay for that!" Rector shouted furiously.

"I believe our time here has expired." Nazo nodded.

Rector aimed a well place fist at the dark duo, but they had already disappeared into a portal of darkness. Back with Amy, she was still crying over injured body, begging him to be alive. When she felt a hand on the side of her face, she realized Sonic was still with her.

"Sonic..." Amy whispered.

"Amy, I'm sorry it has to end this way." Sonic said weakly.

"No, it's not over!" Amy yelled defiantly. "We'll get Tails to help you!"

"Amy, before I go, there's something I've been meaning to tell you." Sonic whispered, moving closer to her. "I love you."

Before she knew it, Amy found Sonic kissing her lips. It was everything Amy could have dreamed for: A warming light that would brighten everything. It felt as if nothing could ever touch them. But just as fast as the warmth came, it was suddenly gone. Sonic's body suddenly become cold and limp, separating himself from her. She wanted ask tell Sonic to wake up, but there was no denying the facts. Amy fell over Sonic's body and cried her eyes out.

"You promised nothing would happen." Rector whimpered, tears streaming from his eyes. "You lied to me! You lied! I hate you, Sonic the Hedgehog!"

The world seemed less bright that day as the truth impacted everyone. Sonic the Hedgehog, The blue Blur, Earth's greatest champion, was dead.

* * *

**As Darkness rises, the light begins to fade. How will the heroes take this lastest upset? What does Nazo have planned for Dark Sonic? And what will happen during the Winter Solstice? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	60. A Shadow of Doubt

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Tomo the Chameleon © Kiba Sniper.

Chapter Sixty: A Shadow of Doubt

The scene opens to the castle of the infamous Dark Rulers. Only two days has passed since the battle and recruitment of Dark Sonic. Upon hearing the news of Sonic's current status, most of the members celebrated. Of course, with Nack and beer, that's not exactly a good thing. Tomo dived straight to the showers after waking up in Nack's bed. The only ones who didn't join in the celebration were Nazo, Mephiles, and Dark Sonic. The dark trio was gathered in Nazo's throne room around Nazo's board; Dark Sonic's figure was added to the Dark Rulers side and Sonic's figure was turned to dust, signifying his death. Black Doom still remained hidden.

"It seems that things are running smoothly." Dark Sonic stated, taking the dust of Sonic's figure in hand. He let the dust slip through his fingers and onto the floor. "With my light counterpart out of the way, there is nothing that can stop us."

"We still have to retrieve the stolen Emeralds from Black Doom." Mephiles stated. "Not to mention the trouble the other heroes might cause."

"Other heroes?" Dark Sonic repeated.

"Dark Sonic doesn't know anything about the others." Nazo explained. "After Dark Sonic was born from Sonic's hatred, he began to fear it. To make sure that nothing like that would ever happen again, Sonic locked his darker half into the deepest crevice of his heart."

"I don't wish to discuss this any longer." Dark Sonic interrupted. "Now that just leaves..."

"Get away from me, weasel!"

"Come on, you know you liked it."

Just then, Tomo barged in the room, followed by Nack. The trio of dark users was starting to receive headaches from the two. After a much heated argument, Tomo was fed up and kicked Nack in the place where no man wants to be hit. As Nack fell painfully to the floor, Erazor Djinn and Shira walked in, both looking highly amused.

"What's going on?" Mephiles asked curiously

"Tomo got drunk and slept with Nack." Shira stated; The Dark Rulers shuddered in disgust. "Tomo denies anything happened between them."

"Maybe she didn't." Nazo suggested.

"Nack recorded the whole thing on video." Erazor stated, holding up a video camera.

"You what?!" Tomo yelled furiously.

"Mommy!!" Nack screamed.

Tomo clapped her hands together and started to perform a series of familiar hand signs. Tomo took in a deep breath and ejected a massive fireball from her mouth. Nack made a run for the door, but by the time he reached it, he was reduced to a pile of ash. Shira, with a video camera, was recording the entire thing.

"This is will be perfect for Movie Night." Shira grinned.

"Can we get back to business?" Dark Sonic said seriously. "If what Lord Nazo says is true, we have a much more difficult challenged ahead of us."

"Most of the preparations are set." Nazo said, stepping down from his throne. "But there is one more essential piece required in order to achieve Project: Hellzone." Nazo starts cackling. "This will be a day the Sonic Heroes won't soon forget!"

* * *

The scene alters to the hidden base of the Sonic Heroes. The sky was dark and gloomy, which reflected the atmosphere inside the base. Shadow, Knuckles, Rouge, Emerl, and Team Chaotix were gathered in the living room, grieving over the loss of their friend. Amy and Rector returned two days ago with Sonic's dead body. Tails kept him in a special place inside the workshop so they could get prepare for a proper funeral. Just then, Kumori walked in on the group.

"How's she doing?" Shadow asked monotone.

"She refuses to leave the room." Kumori said sadly. "As she does is sit there, crying."

"It can be understood." Espio said solemnly. "Amy is going through a ruff time without Sonic."

After Amy brought Sonic back to the base, she locked herself in the room that she and Kumori shared. Kumori and Emerl were the only ones that Amy allowed inside the room. They brought her meals during certain periods, but Amy refused to eat. Amy spent her day in her bed, crying into her pillow for Sonic to come back. It was a depressing sight.

"She just can't spend all day in her room." Vector stated.

"The girl just had her heart broken!" Rouge exclaimed seriously. "But I guess you wouldn't understand."

"What's that supposed to mean, you winged rodent!" Vector yelled.

"You take that back!" Knuckles defended his fiancé.

"And if I don't!" Vector glared.

"Stop, stop, stop!!" Charmy shouted, catching everyone's attention. "Don't fight! Sonic wouldn't want us to fight!"

"I agree with Charmy." Emerl said. "Wow, never thought I would say that."

"Fighting will only bring more suffering." Shadow sighed. "I have already lost too much to go through anymore pain."

"Shadow..." Kumori murmured.

Of anyone in the base, Kumori was the only one who could truly understand Shadow. Back when he was created, Maria was the only person who would treat him as a friend, not a weapon. But during the ARK invasion, Shadow lost his first friend. Then he met Sonic. They were enemies, then rivals, and then best friends. This blow struck him as hard as it did Amy. Kumori sympathized with Shadow and embraced him comfortably. The others were silent for the moment, allowing Shadow's words to sick in. But the peace didn't last long before the alarms blared.

"Why am I not surprise?" Rouge muttered.

The television screen turned on and the G.U.N. Commander appeared on the other end.

"Commander." Shadow nodded.

"Heroes, we have another emergency." The Commander stated.

"There's a surprise." Knuckles said sarcastically.

"What is it, sir?" Espio asked, elbowing Knuckles. "Is it one of Eggman's robots or Nazo's monsters?"

"Neither." The Commander stated. "It's Nazo and he's currently destroying all of Westopolis. My troops are trying to evacuate the city while trying to hold him off. We need you to intercept him so we can get everyone to safety."

"You can count on us, chief!" Charmy saluted.

"We'll take care of that creep!" Vector proclaimed.

"Don't worry, Commander." Shadow said seriously. "I'll make sure that this is the last time we have to deal with him." The commander nodded and the screen went black. Shadow turned to his team "Our target is at Westopolis. We know our mission and we must execute a firm strike." Shadow looked to Emerl. "Emerl, stay behind and watch out for any more disturbances."

"Oh, I'll watch all right." Emerl said darkly.

Shadow recovered one of the Chaos Emerald from the storage chamber and performed Chaos Control to transport the team.

* * *

"Fall back! Fall back!"

"We can't take much more of this!"

Chaos reigned over the capital city of Westopolis. While the city was still recovering from the incident with the Black Arms, Nazo was only making things worse. The God of Darkness went on a senseless rampage, eliminating anything and everything in sight. The G.U.N. soldiers were using every weapon in their arsenal, but nothing truly affected him. Nazo held out his hands, creating a barrage of Chaos Spears. Many of the soldiers were slaughtered, but those who survived were crawling away from the silver monster.

"This is getting boring." Nazo sighed, killing yet another soldier. "I guess destruction has really lost its amusement."

"Maybe you try finding something nicer to do." Charmy said.

Nazo turned slowly around and watched as Shadow and his allies appeared in a flash of green light.

"Ah, I was wondering if you would make it." Nazo said amusingly.

"You think you're so funny." Knuckles glared, bashing together his namesakes. "We know what happened between you and Sonic."

"Is that supposed to intimidate me?" Nazo questioned coolly.

"There's no way we're going to let you get away with what you did!" Vector roared.

"Unless you value your own life, I must suggest you leave at once." Espio stated coldly.

"No, he's not going to get away." Shadow said venomously. "He's going to pay for his sins. I will make sure of that."

"And you believe you have the strength to beat me?" Nazo laughed. "That's a laugh!"

"You won't be laughing much longer." Kumori seethed.

"Then might I suggest you give it your best shot." Nazo grinned.

"Already on it, sugar."

Before Nazo realized what hit him, something slammed into the side of his face from behind. Nazo stumbled back a few feet before jumping back up. He looked skyward and found Rouge hovering over him. Any normal hedgehog would be at a disadvantage to a flying opponent. But that rule didn't apply to Nazo. The God of Darkness kicked off the ground and shot in the direction of the white bat. Rouge barely moved out of the way to avoid Nazo's direct assault. The white bat reached into the pouch she brought and threw a handful of miniature bombs. The bombs exploded on contact with Nazo's back, filling the sky with a display of brilliant flashes.

"Once again, the beast is beaten by the beauty." Rouge sighed.

"Someone's a little conceited."

Rouge gasped and turned sharply around to find Nazo floating behind her. Before she could even blink, Nazo slammed his fist into Rouge's stomach. The impact knocked the white bat unconscious and started to fall. She was about to make contact with the ground, but Knuckles dived in and saved her. Knuckles gently placed her on the ground before directing his anger towards the God of Darkness.

"You monster!" Knuckles yelled.

"Flattery will get you nowhere in this battle, knucklehead." Nazo smirked, landing on the ground.

"Don't call me that." Knuckles glared; his fists suddenly alit with flames. "Don't you ever call me that!"

Knuckles suddenly thrust his hand forward and released a ball of flames. Nazo was caught off guard momentarily, but managed to sidestep away. As the fireball passed by, Nazo realized the left hand was burned. Nazo quickly healed it and shot a look to Knuckles.

"_So this is the echidna's living fire._" Nazo thought. "_I've heard about it. According to Erazor, the echidna's strongest warriors were able to forge flames from their own bodies and give them minds of their own. This should be interesting._"

"Better watch your step." Knuckles grinned. "Things are about to heat up."

"Leave the puns to the professionals." Nazo said coolly.

A vein on Knuckles forehead was throbbing; an obvious sign at he was pissed off more than usual. Knuckles once again ignited his fists and tossed a column of flames. Nazo easily avoided the heated fires by jumping in the air and remained idle. Just as he suspected, the flames twisted themselves around like a serpent and followed Nazo's movements. Nazo swerved past the number of buildings, hoping the flames extinguish. He was amazed that the flames actually flashed through the buildings. There was only one option left. Nazo dived down towards Knuckles, the flames following his lead. Knuckles raised his namesakes to fight, but was surprised when Nazo flew around him. Before he couldn't even figure out why, the flames he conjured engulfed his body. Knuckles quickly dismissed the flames to save himself, but left himself weak and immobile.

"I must admit, that was a fancy trick." Nazo commented, touching ground. "You truly are worthy of your echidna lineage."

"BONZAI!!"

Charmy dived at Nazo with his stinger pointed out, but this didn't concern the God of Darkness. Without even looking, Nazo reached behind and grabbed the tiny bee by his stinger. Nazo pulled him forward and held him upside down.

"If you plan to surprise someone, might I suggest you do it silently." Nazo commented humorously.

"Good work, Charmy." Vector's voice echoed. "Now leave it to me."

Nazo searched the area for the masculine croc, but had no luck i his search. All of a sudden, the manhole in front of him popped open and Vector snapped his jaws at Nazo. Unfortunately, Vector was a head short away from Nazo. It was then he realized that everything below his shoulders was still caught in the sewers. Vector tried to squirm his way out, but nothing happened. Nazo and Charmy sweat-dropped.

"Uh...a little help here?" Vector asked meekly.

"How did you get down there, anyway." Charmy asked curiously.

"I don't know." Vector replied.

Nazo sweat-dropped again. Nazo slammed Charmy's body over Vectors head and sent them to the sewer. Just as he kicked the manhole cover back in its place, an enlarged shuriken was seen flying towards him. Nazo leaned his head slowly, only allowing the blade to scratch his cheek. The cut healed and Nazo directed his attention to Espio.

"You've got some nerve to strike me." Nazo grimaced.

"But I wasn't trying to strike you." Espio smirked superiorly. "Just capture you."

"Capture?" Nazo repeated curiously.

Without reason, Espio held his palms out and pulled them backwards. At first, Nazo had no idea what he was up to. But the days he spent with Tomo, Nazo learned to notice the smaller details. As he looked at his palms, he noticed there was something thin attached to his fingers: wire. Nazo knew what he was doing. Before he even had a chance to counteract, the shuriken that nearly hit him came back. It swung circles around his body, binding him by the wire attached to it. The wire was made of reinforced steel, making it difficult for Nazo to escape. As Nazo struggled, Espio clasped him hands together in a string of hand signs.

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!" Espio shouted.

A torrent of fire released from Espio's mouth, guiding themselves down the wires. Nazo had no chance to move and was engulfed by the flames. When Espio dismissed the technique, all that was left was the wires and a pile of ash.

"I didn't think it would be that easily." Espio said suspiciously.

"That's because it isn't."

Espio turned to the side, only to find himself being lifted to the air by his throat. Looking down, Espio could see a hedgehog that looked like Nazo, only his fur was white. A moment later, the fur turned to Nazo's natural silver color.

"But...how?" Espio gasped.

"As a snake sheds its skin, so do I." Nazo smirked. "It's a good thing I learn all of Tomo's abilities, or else I never would have made it through that. I will be sure to thank her once I conquer this world."

As Nazo continued talking, Espio secretly pulled a kunai from his compartment. Unfortunately, Nazo saw this coming. He released his grip on Espio, but summoned a Chaos Lance to strike him. Espio was hit directly in the chest by the powerful arrow and sent crashing into a building. As the dust cleared, Espio was found grievously injured, but still alive.

"These feeble opponents are becoming boring." Nazo sighed.

"Then why not try me on for size!"

Nazo didn't even have to look to know that Kumori was behind him; only she could be that loud during battle, not counting Charmy. While in midair, Kumori flipped around and stretched her leg outwards. Nazo carelessly raised his forearm, easily blocking the attack. Irritated by Nazo's lack of effort, Kumori flipped backwards in midair and landed on her feet. She ducked down in an attempt to trip him, but the God of Darkness merely jumped over her. Nazo sent his fist forward, but Kumori grabbed it in her palm and threw one of her own punches. Nazo replied in the same reaction, bring them to a stalemate.

"I must say, you've proved to be more of a challenge." Nazo complimented.

"You shouldn't underestimate me because I am a girl." Kumori returned.

"I've known many great warriors who were female." Nazo stated. "I've learned never to underestimate my opponents."

"Well, that's good." Kumori smirked. "Now you know what to expect."

Kumori brought her knee up and separated her hands with Nazo. Before Nazo could counter, Kumori swung around and kicked his chest with her other foot. Nazo could see the female prototype charging ahead and summoned a horde of Chaos Spears. Kumori dived down and slid across the ground to avoid the energy assault. Nazo tried to grab her, but the black hedgehog female slid between his legs and kicked him from behind. Nazo only staggered slightly, but it was enough to get him mad. While Kumori flipped backward, Nazo started to gather a tremendous amount of red chaos energy. Kumori saw this and was already starting to panic.

"This could be bad." Kumori shuddered.

"Oh, it is." Nazo said maliciously before yelling. "CHAOS BLAST!!"

Nazo unleashed the red energy from his body in the form of a red nuclear explosion. Espio, though injured, regained enough strength to collect Knuckles and Rouge's unconscious form and duck into the sewers. But in all the confusion, he had overlooked Kumori. As close as the blast was, the only way to survive was with Chaos Control. But she was created without the ability to use chaos. Kumori closed her eye in anticipation with the blast, but it never came. When Kumori opened her eyes again, the blast was gone and Shadow stood in front of her in a defensive position.

"Shadow!" Kumori praised. "I knew you would protect me."

"I shouldn't have to protect you." Shadow said seriously, holding his hand to her. "But I made a promise to always be there for you." Kumori smiled and gratefully took his hand. "Now we only have to worry about Nazo."

"What can we do?" Kumori said worried. "If we attack, he'll heal himself. If we don't fight him, he'll kill us."

"We have to find a way to fight him without allowing him the chance to heal." Shadow said tactically. "And I think I know a way how."

"Really?" Kumori said hopefully.

"It's our one shot, but I need something first." Shadow said solemnly. "I need you to give it to me."

"Anything." Kumori said.

It was all a blur to Kumori, but it was the happiest moment of her life. Shadow suddenly grasped Kumori by the head and forced her closer to him, locking his lips with hers. Kumori felt as if her heart had exploded from her chest. Shadow, her one true love, was kissing her. Was this how Amy felt? Just as quickly as they came together, they were now apart.

"Goodbye." Shadow whispered

Kumori was still dazed from the kiss, but ultimately felt Shadow's fist lodged in her stomach. The female prototype dropped to her knees and fell over, grasping her stomach. She wasn't unconscious, but she had lost all moving capabilties. From the corner of her eyes, she could Shadow; he was crying.

"Why?" Kumori gasped.

"I don't want you to get hurt." Shadow shuddered. "Please, live on."

Leaving behind the injured Kumori, Shadow stepped up to Nazo with a look of fear and confidence.

"So this is it then." Nazo sniggered. "We finally get a chance to see who the true ultimate life-form is."

"After today, that title will fade." Shadow said seriously. "I'm taking you down forever."

"Then show me what you got!"

At once, Shadow freely summoned a powerful Chaos Lance from his open palm. Nazo mimicked his tactic and performed an equally powerful Chaos Lance. The two attacks collided, destroying all nearby buildings in the street. Once Nazo regained his senses, he quickly reacted as Shadow made an attempt to attack him. Shadow threw out his foot, but the God of Darkness swatted him away. Shadow quickly touched the ground with his palm and countered with another kick. Nazo blocked it with his forearm and released a single Chaos Spear from his hand. Shadow pushed himself off the ground and flipped over Nazo's head, successfully avoid the attack. Once behind Nazo, Shadow trapped the hedgehog's arms behind his back.

"What is it that up plan on doing now?" Nazo questioned.

"Since you heal after every attack, I'll have to destroy you in a way you can never heal." Shadow stated.

"Try your best." Nazo sniggered. "I can recover from even the smallest particle."

"That's why I won't leave a single trace." Shadow said seriously.

Suddenly, Shadow began to gather a large amount of red chaos to his body. At first, Nazo figured he was going to perform anther Chaos Blast. But then he realized that the energy wasn't headed for his body, but for his heart. Nazo's eyes shot wide with fear.

"You're insane!" Nazo yelled madly. "You'll kill us both!"

"Better to get rid of you." Shadow grunted. His eyes wandered and made contact with Kumori, who stared back. "Kumori, I'm sorry I won't be able to keep my promise. I am only doing this to protect you."

"Shadow..." Kumori murmured.

"I'll miss you." Shadow said sadly. Once the energy was gathered, Shadow released it. "CHAOS IMPLOSION!!"

"Shadow!!" Kumori screamed.

The charged energy exploded not from Shadow's body, but from inside his heart. Shadow heart and body were both consumed by the blast; not a trace of him left. Nazo was also caught in the inferno, taking with him every chance to save himself. Though dead, Shadow managed to suppress the blast enough to not destroy Kumori and the city. When the blast died down, there was nothing left but a gaping crater. Kumori could see one of Shadow's power was rings left behind and picked it up, holding it to her heart. At that moment, one of the manholes blew open, revealing the rest of the team, who were properly healed again.

"Hey, what happened here?" Knuckles questioned.

"Where's Shadow?" Rouge asked.

"Shadow..." Kumori sobbed. "He...he..."

They didn't to know the rest to know what had happened. Like Sonic, Shadow had given up everything to protect the world. And with the death of Nazo, the threat of darkness had finally been vanquished. But the price of this victory was too high. As the heroes grieved over their loss, Emerl, who had been watching the entire time, was finished scanning them.

"All copies complete." Emerl stated. "Mission 2: Complete. Mission 3: engaged."

* * *

The scene alters to the remaining half of the moon, where a black meteor was hidden in the rocks. This meteor was the remains of the Black Comet. As the Black Arms continued to renovate the base, Black Doom sat at his throne, watching the battle on Earth. The stolen Chaos and Sol Emeralds floated above his head. Black Doom was overjoyed when he witnessed the deaths of his two greatest threats.

"This is perfect." Black Doom said malevolently. "Nazo and Shadow are dead, leaving me to conquer the planet for my own." Black Doom floated up and gazed upon the emeralds. "And with these emeralds, nothing will stop me from – what is this?!"

All of a sudden, the emeralds became dull and weak. Slowly, they began to crack until they were nothing but dust. All over the universe, the Chaos Emerald counterparts were fading away: The Sol Emeralds, The Seven World Rings, even The Time Stones. With Nazo's death, all things connected to them were destroyed. The ultimate power in the universe was gone.

"NO!!" Black doom roared.

* * *

**--20 years later--**

The scene opens to a desolate cave where an evil plot was unfolding. Inside the cave, thirteen white thrones surrounded a giant dragon statue with thirteen holes in it. Seated at each throne was a shrouded figure, but only two of them were real; the other eleven were images. They were chanted as around a young owl, who was strapped to a stone table. A black wave of energy was escaping from the owl's heart and into the dragon's mouth. Of the two real figures, one of them could be recognized as Mephiles. He wore a black coat with a white flame symbol on the back, similar to his partner.

"Truly amazing." Mephiles inquired. "This spark was able to manipulate the metal of the city and form a gigantic beats. You are truly powerful to defeat him, my lord." He received no reply. "What is it, my lord?"

"My father is dead." The leader stated.

From this comment, all the other members were attracted by this new information, but only Mephiles was allowed to ask.

"You speak of Lord Nazo?" Mephiles asked. "Is he truly gone?"

"No, this is only his first death." The leader replied.

"First death." Mephiles said thoughtfully. "Ah, Project: Hellzone. That was one of the greatest accomplishments of your father's lifetime. It was recognized as The Day of Red Skies. If Lord Nazo can change history, we will have no need for the Hakumei to capture the Chaos Sparks."

"But we can't leave anything to chance." The leader said. "We must capture all thirteen Spark." He turns his head to one of the shrouded figures. "And I expect you to do your part in capturing your target, Terro."

The man he referred to could not be seen properly, but some aspects could be sighted. He had a white crescent birthmark on his forehead that looked exactly like Knuckles'. His eyes were orange with six black slits surrounding one large slit.

"I cannot say how the outcome will be." Terro said politely. "My target will be difficult to capture."

"What do you expect from the son of Sonic the Hedgehog?" The leader laughed.

* * *

**One evil is vanquished, but others remain. What will become of the heroes without their leader? What is Emerl's third mission? Who is this strange organization from the future? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	61. Without A Future

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Tomo the Chameleon © Kiba Sniper.

Chapter Sixty-One: Without A Future

The scene opens to the castle dimension of the Dark Rulers. Three days had passed since the final confrontation between Nazo and the Heroes in Westopolis. The remaining six members of the Dark Rulers were gathered in their former leader's throne room; Mephiles sat in the throne as second-in-command with Shira at his side. They surrounded the board that was produced by their former leader; Nazo and Shadow's figures were turned to dust. Erazor held the dust that once belong to Nazo's figure and slowly allowed it to slip through his fingers onto the floor.

"I never thought I would see the day that Lord Nazo dies." Erazor stated.

"I always figured he was the strongest in the world." Shira said sadly. "Maybe in the whole universe."

"He was." Dark Sonic said coldly. "And still is, as long as we follow accordance to the plan."

"How long do we have?" Mephiles questioned

"I didn't some research." Tomo informed. "The Winter Solstice won't arrive for another two weeks."

"That means we'll have plenty of time for fun." Nack grinned pervertedly, looking to Tomo.

"I did not sleep with you!!" Tomo exclaimed.

"We have it on video." Erazor said, holding up the video camera. Tomo glared at the dark djinn and performed a familiar series of hand signs. She ejected a massive fireball to burn Erazor, camera and all. "Never mind."

"You got burned!" Nack joked lamely.

"You're next, weasel!" Tomo flared.

"Can we focus on the priority at hand?" Mephiles interrupted. "We have completed most of the preparations for Project: Hellzone, as commanded by Lord Nazo. But we are missing one essential piece if this plan is to succeed."

"Should would retrieve it, my love?" Shira asked, leaning to Mephiles' shoulder.

"No, let's leave it to our special agent." Mephiles chuckled. "For now, there's one relationship I wish to end."

Mephiles reached out to the board, where he picked up the figure of his most hated enemy; the only one who could ever stop him.

* * *

"PSYCHIC SCREW!!"

The scene alters to Casinopolis. At first, it started out with Silver, Blaze, and Howl looking for Gemini to cheer Amy up. Since Rector was away on a mission, they needed family support. Silver is a descendent, so he doesn't count. Kumori suffered after losing Shadow, but handle the pain better. Unfortunately, they ran into one of Eggman's robots. It was an eight-legged machine that resembled a silver spider. Silver used his psychic powers to knock it back into a building, but the Egg-Spider merely shrugged it off and scuttled back towards Silver. It raised its pincers to strike, but was halted when two whirlwinds made contact; one of fire and one of wind. The two thrusted the spider back and diminished to reveal Howl and Blaze.

"Persistent little bug, isn't he?" Howl commented as the Egg-Spider stood up. "Now what?"

"How do you expect me to know?" Silver asked.

"You are the leader." Blaze stated.

With Sonic and Shadow dead, Silver was next in line as leader of the Sonic Heroes. The only downside was that he was inexperienced in leading a team. Silver and Blaze alone were easy enough, but a team built a lot of pressure on the young hedgehog. Before he even had time to reply, the Egg-Spider slammed its leg between them. The trio of heroes were thrown in opposite directions, but the Egg-Spider directed its pincers to Blaze. A piece of concrete had landed on the pyro cat's leg, rendering her unable to save herself. The Egg-Spider raised its pincers for the finishing blow when a light-blue aura surrounded it.

"No one hurts Blaze and gets away with it!" Silver yelled angrily.

Silver used his psychic powers to force the Egg-Spider's limbs in separate directions until it was ripped to pieces. With the machine out of the way, Silver used his powers to lift the concrete off his girlfriend and kneeled to her side.

"Are you ok?" Silver asked kindly.

"Just a sprain." Blaze said, wincing slightly. "As long as we complete our mission."

"A friend comes before a mission." Howl stated, sniffing at the air occasionally. "Besides, our mission is a failure. I've been searching for Gemini's scent since we got here. He was here a few days ago, but he's not anymore."

"That's perfect." Blaze said sarcastically. "We went through all the trouble for nothing."

"Well, at least he got some exercise." Silver said cheerfully; Blaze burned his head quills. "Right, not funny."

Silver placed Blaze's arm over his shoulder and began to carry her back to base with Howl at their side. Suddenly, a brilliant flash of light could be seen from the corner of their eyes, intriguing them. When the looked over, they could see a dome of white light enveloping the city.

"What is it?" Howl asked fearfully. "Is that Chaos Control?"

"That's impossible!" Silver exclaimed. "All the Chaos Emeralds are gone!"

"Whatever it is, it's headed straight for us!" Blaze stated.

The three heroes tried to make a run for it, but the light was too fast for them to escape. The last thing Silver could see was the light pulling Blaze and Howl away from him before he was forced to shield his eyes from the piercing light.

* * *

The light finally died down and Silver slowly started to regain his senses.

"Man, what was that all about." Silver said, rubbing his eyes vigorously. "Howl, Blaze, are you ok." He received no response from his love or ally. "Howl, Blaze, what's wrong?"

When Silver's eyes came back into focus, he couldn't find Howl or Blaze. In fact, he couldn't even find Casinopolis. The first thing he saw when his sight returned was the destruction that lay before him. The buildings were crumpled, the skies were clouded by eternal dark skies, and the atmosphere was more heated than usual. Silver didn't know why, but this destroyed city seemed eerily familiar to him; as if he had been here before.

"Where am I?" Silver questioned.

"Silver!" The grey hedgehog that was mentioned turned at the sound of the familiar voice. Just then, Blaze jumped in front of him. "Silver, where were you? I've been looking all over the city for you."

"Blaze, what happened?" Silver asked fearfully. "What happened to Casinopolis?"

"Casinopolis?" Blaze repeated strangely. "What are you talking about? This is Crisis City."

"_Crisis City?!_" Silver mentally exclaimed. "_That's why it seems so familiar; because I was born here. But if the future is changed, how can this city still exist?_"

"Are you ok, Silver?" Blaze asked worried, noticing her friend's strange reaction.

"Blaze, how did this happen?" Silver questioned fearfully. "Where are Howl, Knuckles, and Emerl?"

"Howl? Knuckles? Emerl?" Blaze responded questioningly. "I've never heard of any of those names. As for what happened, I think you would know better than anyone. It's because of the Flames of Disaster, Iblis, that our world is like this."

"Iblis!?" Silver shouted in surprise. "But that's impossible! Iblis was...

All of a sudden, the ground beneath then began to tremble. Blaze quickly jumped off the ruined structure of the buildings to reach the remains of a highway. Silver used his levitation powers to follow behind her. The moment they touched ground, the Earth cracked open and a monstrous beast emerged from below. It was a demon made from lava and molten rock, an enemy Silver once believed to be gone. Iblis, the Flames of Disaster.

"You were saying?" Blaze grimaced.

"This is not good." Silver commented.

Iblis roared and brought down its molten claw on the heroic duo. Both futuristic warriors jumped in opposite directions to avoid the initial attack. Once blaze landed, she formed a large fireball in her palms and launched it to Iblis' head. Unfortunately, the fireball was a mere ember compared to Iblis' molten body. The Flames of Disaster turned its attention to Blaze and released a swarm of molten rocks from his body. Blaze stepped backwards, accidentally tripping on a piece of slag. Blaze held her arms in defense when the molten rocks suddenly stopped in midair. It was then our beloved psychic hedgehog jumped to be protection.

"Think you could have timed that any closer." Blaze glared.

"Your welcome." Silver said sarcastically before turning to Iblis. "Hey, I think you dropped something!"

Silver hurtled the molten rock back at its creator, but the lava beast merely absorbed it into its body. Iblis turned its monstrous head to the grey hedgehog, but found that he was nowhere to be found. It was only after it felt a sudden weight on top that Iblis realized his enemy was on his head. Iblis tried to reach for the hedgehog, but Silver slammed his hand down and released a psychic charge through the beast's body. Iblis roared in pain, realizing that it couldn't win, and disappeared into the lava river below. Silver jumped back to the highway; Blaze joined him, and watch his greatest fear leaving before his eyes.

"Silver?" Blaze said worriedly.

"_How is this possible?_" Silver mentally questioned. "_I was sure I sealed Iblis in my body. But if that's true..._" Silver placed his hand to his chest near his heart. "_...why can't I feel the deathly flames anymore?_"

"Silver, what's wrong." Blaze asked.

"This isn't right." Silver stated. "Everything is all wrong. This city shouldn't exist, the skies should be blue, and there should be people walking happily through the streets. I can't understand where this could have gone wrong."

"Silver, you're starting to scare me." Blaze said.

"I'm kinda scared myself." Silver said seriously. "Blaze, I need to know everything that's happened."

And so, Blaze went on to explain everything that happened over the past two hundred years. As Silver predicted, it all started two hundred years back in the city of Soleanna, where Iblis first became known to the world. Silver knew this was a lie since he found out that the Iblis they fought was a fake made by Mephiles. Some aspects derived from the previous timeline, depicting Sonic and Shadow's deaths before Iblis took control.

"And that's everything." Blaze finished.

"I can't believe everything went back to the way it was before." Silver groaned. "I thought I had changed the future for the better."

"I think I've been patient long enough." Blaze glared; Silver flinched. "I want to know what's going on with you."

"Ok, but it may take a while." Silver forewarned.

Now was Silver's turn to explain all the occurrences of his lifetime. He started off from the battle against Iblis to the defeat of Solaris. He explained the temporal reset and that only he, Metal, and Mephiles could remember; Silver left out the romantic relationship between him and Blaze. His story soon came to the subject of the Dark War, as many refer it, between the Heroes, Eggman, and the Dark Rulers. When he reached the subject of Marine and Blaze being a princess, the pyro cat seemed slightly embarrassed. He went on to Sonic and Shadow's deaths, Nazo's defeat, the destruction of the Chaos and Sol Emeralds until he reached the present.

"And then there was this great flash of light." Silver concluded. "And when I woke up, I found myself here."

"Wow, that's some story." Blaze said amazed. "But if time reset, how can you remember?

"When Mephiles sent us back in time, his powers merged with mine." Silver explained. "According to him, that incident allowed us to exist outside of time. Not only that, we also share a mental connection to one another."

"That's all very interesting." Blaze said thoughtfully. "But if we've already met Mephiles, why don't I remember him?"

"You don't remember Mephiles?" Silver questioned. He took a moment of thought before he realized something. "Now I understand! The reason you don't remember him is because we haven't met him yet. This was the day we first saw him."

"If that's true, then where is he?" Blaze asked.

"Funny, you should ask that."

AT the sound of the voice, the duo turned and saw a black arrow head for them. On the reaction, Silver threw his hands out and created a barrier of psychic energy to block it. When the attack was over, Silver dropped the barrier to reveal their attacker. The grey hedgehog shocked to find not only one Mephiles, but two of them. One was the crystallized hedgehog that Silver came to know and the other resembled a grey Shadow with no mouth.

"Ok, you failed to mention there were two of them." Blaze said sarcastically.

"I don't remember two." Silver shrugged. "So what's the deal with you and the other guy, Mephiles?"

"This is the one you failed to defeat?" 'Shadow' chuckled.

"Beware his power." Mephiles said to his other. "He is more dangerous than he appears."

"What's going on, Mephiles." Silver questioned seriously. "Why is Iblis back? Why is the world as it is?"

"I actually glad you asked, Silver." Mephiles said delightfully. "Looking back, I began to wonder where I went wrong. How could my plan to reign as Solaris have failed? Then I realized something. In history, many great warlords bring about their own downfall. I brought my downfall by sending you back to the past. So, using my gifts, I decided to correct that mistake."

"By preventing us from ever meeting." Blaze realized.

"Precisely." 'Shadow' nodded.

"Without our meeting, Sonic and Shadow stood no chance against our creation." Mephiles said, referring to the fake Iblis. "Though you are not affected by the timeline, despite your ancestor's deaths, we have more than enough power to fix that."

"What do you mean?" Silver asked cautiously.

Neither Mephiles' answered, only laughing at that grey hedgehog's concerned look. Both Mephiles moved together and suddenly began to merge on contact. Silver and Blaze stepped back, awaiting what beast would emerge from the ooze. The ooze took the shape of a large purple lizard with crystallized spines, a lashing tail, and green demonic eyes.

"And I thought Mephiles couldn't get any uglier." Silver said in disgust.

"I am no longer Mephiles." The lizard said. "I am Mephisto."

"Watch out!" Blaze shouted.

Just as Blaze cried out, Mephisto crawled on all four legs and released a storm of crystals from his spine. Blaze quickly dived on Silver, pulling him down from the range of fire. Silver was about to thank her, but never had the chance when Mephisto ran up and kicked her across the ruined streets into a brick wall. Mephisto raised his upper legs and started threw them down on his eternal enemy. Acting by instinct, Silver threw up a barrier around himself and defended against the attack. Mephisto was angered and started pounding away at the barrier with all four legs and his tail. The barrier was barely able to defend against two legs and the tail was a powerful force all on its own. Silver could feel the barrier beginning to give way, but luckily, Mephisto was thrown off by a jet of fire. Silver dropped his barrier, panting, as Blaze ran to his side.

"Silver, are you all right?" Blaze asked concern.

"I've...been better." Silver wheezed, weakly pushing himself up. "This is insane. Mephiles' attacks are more uncoordinated like they usually are. It's as if he loses all control of himself when he goes into battle."

"You are partially correct." Mephisto stated knowingly. "As Mephiles, I am able to keep my blood lust in check. But as Mephisto, I have no control over my rages. When I fight, I must kill for blood."

"Yeah, that's a pleasant image." Blaze said sarcastically.

"Is she always this sarcastic?" Mephisto asked randomly.

"Afraid so." Silver said gloomily.

AT Silver's distraction, Mephisto thrust his tail forward at the grey hedgehog. A crystal tip formed at the end, creating the same effect as a dagger. It was only until the tail was right in front of him did Silver realize that Mephisto attacked. Mephisto struck. Silver gasped in horror, but not for himself. At his moment of weakness, Blaze wrapped her body protectively around Silver and allowed the crystal to strike her back. Mephisto growled that his target wasn't hit, but was satisfied when he noticed blood leaking onto his tail. Mephisto recalled his tail and began to lick the blood off pleasurably. Blaze dropped, but Silver caught her and held her comfortingly in his arms.

"Blaze..." Silver whispered sadly.

"Looks like it's up to you again, Silver." Blaze grinned weakly.

"No, I can help you." Silver shook. "There has to be something I can do."

"We both know there's nothing you can do to help." Blaze said. "All you can do is protect this world."

"But I can't do it alone." Silver moaned. "I can't lose you for a third time."

"You'll never lose me, Silver." Blaze stated. "If you can fix this, I'll come back again. You just need to..."

But Blaze could not finish the sentence as her last breath was taken from her. Death had once again claimed another hero to add to his collection. Knowing Iblis was no longer trapped inside of him, Silver allowed himself to cry. He moaned over Blaze's body and held her close, wanting to saver the warmth she had. Unfortunately, Mephisto had finished his meal and was looking for desert.

"I'm still hungry." Mephisto growled. "Come satisfy me, Silver.

Silver glared at the beast that killed his love; anger flowing through every vein in his body. The grey hedgehog gently set the body of Blaze to the ground and moved closer to face his enemy. Sensing a chance to strike, Mephisto once again attacked with his pointed tail. But Silver, fueled by anger, grasped the crystallized end before it could ever pierce him. Mephisto tried to tug his tail back, but the grey hedgehog would release. Suddenly, Silver enclosed his hand, crushing the crystal and dispersing the ooze from its place. Mephisto roared in pain and recalled the remains of his tail.

"What have you done?!" Mephisto yelled.

"_I feel...invincible._" Silver thought. "_I feel I can do anything. Even Chaos Control._"

"You'll pay for that you impudent rat!" Mephisto proclaimed.

Mephisto started swinging his upper legs in such random motions that it couldn't be seen where they were going. But as Mephisto made his way to Silver, the grey hedgehog was suddenly surrounded but a visible light-blue aura. Mephisto was already over him and swung his powerful legs down, but Silver had already beat him to the punch.

"CHAOS CONTROL!!" Silver exclaimed.

**

* * *

**

--One Hour Earlier--

The original crystal Mephiles was watching the battle between Silver and Blaze against his brother, Iblis. The hedgehog and cat seemed to be defending themselves greatly. As he looked down to the streets, he could see his past self watching the battle as well. Everything was going as planned.

"Now for the next phase of my plan." Mephiles muttered.

Mephiles moved to the edge, planning to jump, when a sudden flash of light appeared from behind. He turned around and found himself faced with a white vortex: a time portal. Unexpectedly, Silver jumped out and grasped Mephiles by the throat. Silver pinned his archenemy to the ground, just as his past self defeated the Flames of Disaster.

"Didn't expect me, did you?" Silver grinned.

"Why do you always have to spoil the fun?" Mephiles said monotone.

"Did you forget who my family is?" Silver chuckled.

"By discovering the truth of course."

As Silver looked back to the battle field, he could see the Mephiles disguised as Shadow speaking to Blaze and his past self. The current Mephiles struggled under Silver's pressure, but the grey hedgehog refused to release. He continued to watch until eh past Mephiles had used his temporal powers to send the three of them back in time. After the trio had disappeared, a sudden flash of light emerged from their departing point. When the light died down, Silver and Mephiles once again found themselves in Casinopolis.

"Looks like your plan failed, Mephiles." Silver smirked. "I win this time."

"Who said my plan failed?" Mephiles sniggered.

Silver stared at him with a confused look until he heard a metal clicking from behind. When Silver looked back, he found Nack standing directly behind him with his pistol pointed at his forehead. To prevent Silver from using any of his psychic abilities, Mephiles suddenly broke free and grasped the hedgehog by his head, sending a wave of black chaos. Silver squirmed and tried to fight back, but that ended up being his last mistake. Nack pulled the trigger.

"Where could he have gone?" Blaze asked.

Howl and Blaze were searching the streets of Casinopolis, looking for the grey hedgehog that disappeared momentarily.

"It's odd." Howl said seriously. "After that burst of light appeared, I've completely lost his scent. But now it seems his scent has returned, but it's much weaker than before."

"Does that mean he's far away?" Blaze asked hopefully.

"I think that..."

All of a sudden, Silver dropped down from the sky and slammed to the roof of a car. The duo gasped in fright and looked up to find Mephiles and Nack standing over a building above them. Blaze, enraged at the pain they caused her love, launched a fireball from her palms at the two. Unfortunately, Mephiles conjured an orb of purple energy and disappeared alongside Nack before the flames hit.

"Grr, when I get my hands on them." Blaze seethed.

"I think we have worse matters to attend to." Howl said solemnly.

We better take him back to the base to heal his injuries." Blaze stated.

"Unfortunately, we cannot." Howl said softly; Blaze stared. "I wondered why Silver's scent seemed so weak, even after being so close. Then I realized it was being blocked...by decay."

"Decay?" Blaze repeated. "What does that mean?"

"Silver has joined Sonic and Shadow." Howl said bluntly.

Blaze's heart went cold at that statement. The pyro cat shook her head, refusing to believe a word coming from the wolf's mouth and ran to help Silver. But the moment she touched him, she knew something was wrong. Slowly, she turned the grey hedgehog around and gasped in fright. Silver's eyes were blank and a small hole pierced his skull.

"Silver." Blaze whispered softly. "Silver, wake up, this isn't funny. Silver? Silver? Silver!!"

Blaze finally broke down and Howl bowed in respect. This was the cold truth: The last of the golden trio was dead.

* * *

The scene alters to the castle of the Dark Rulers, where Mephiles once again sat at his master's throne. Nack was celebrating in his own way by asking Tomo for a date. So far he ended up burned three times, dropped from the castle roof twice, and had a hundred shuriken piercing his body. He doesn't know when to give up. Mephiles idea of celebrating was watching Silver's figure turn to dust, signifying his death. He was enjoying himself until Shira walked through the door.

"Your agent is here." Shira stated.

"Send him in." Mephiles ordered.

Shira nodded and stepped aside to let another figure enter the room. Though, unexpectedly, is wasn't a monster of Nazo's but the infamous Metal Sonic. Metal stood across from the crystallized hedgehog, keeping his distance in case of betrayal. Shira looked as if she wanted to help, but Mephiles waved her off. The Shira nodded again and closed the door behind her.

"What do you want?" Metal asked coldly.

"I believe you know what." Mephiles replied. "I want the status on the mission I assigned you."

"I have my best operative on it." Metal stated. "You will have your prize soon enough."

"I hope your son is powerful enough to handle such a mission." Mephiles said wickedly. "The Winter Solstice is only a couple weeks away and we need to set everything up before the time comes."

"Emerl will complete his mission!" Metal shouted; sparks radiating from his claws. "You just better keep you end of the deal."

"I am a demon of my word." Mephiles said. "If you want to see you wife again, you best not fail."

Metal clutched his claws intensely, accidentally releasing sparks to the walls. After calming down a bit, the mechanical hedgehog turned and left the dark being. All the pieces were coming together. With the main threats eliminated, there was nothing that could stop the ultimate takeover: The Day of Red Skies.

* * *

**Dark days are only soon to come. What will the heroes do without their leaders? Will Emerl complete his hidden mission? And what is 'The Day of Red Skies'? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	62. Passing the Torch

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Corrupt (c) DarkspineSilver92

Rodrigo (c) Kiba Sniper

Chapter Sixty-Two: Passing the Torch

The scene opens to the base of the Sonic Heroes, which was not the best place to be at the time. It's been over four days since Silver's death and marked the sign of worse troubles. Blaze remained strong during all this, but Cream would often hear her crying in her sleep. After losing all three of their leaders, the heroes have been disordered and frantic without anyone to guide them. All the while, crime rates are at their all-time high, and G.U.N. soldiers were forced to pick up the pieces. Knuckles, Rouge, Blue, Jet, and Tails sat around the living room, caught in a state of depression.

"Well, now what do we do?" Tails sighed.

"We can't just sit around, doing nothing." Blue stated. "There's a whole world out there in need of our help."

"But how are we going to fight without a leader?" Knuckles said grimly. "Nazo may be gone, but there is still Eggman and Metal Sonic."

"Don't forget the Metal Squadron, Violet, and the rest of the Dark Rulers." Rouge added.

"Yeah, them, too" Knuckles nodded.

"Man, you guys are really starting to bring me down." Jet said nonchalantly, lying against the back of the couch. "If you want a leader so bad, why not just pick a new one. Preferably, a handsome green hawk."

"What makes you think you could be leader?" Blue glared, shooting straight to his feet.

"Well, I do have some experience leading the Babylon Rogues." Jet claimed.

"Please, everyone knows Wave was the brains behind the operation." Blue scoffed.

"You think you can do any better!" Jet snapped.

"Much better than an overstuffed turkey!" Blue shouted.

"I'm a hawk!!" Jet roared.

And within moments, Jet jumped on top of blue and started beating at the aquatic clone. Blue pressed his feet against Jet's chest and kicked backwards into the wall. Blue flipped back to his feet, extending and sharpening his claws, and rushed ahead to the thieving bird. When they were only a few feet from each other, Blue stabbed his claws forward. On the reaction, Jet pulled both his fans from his head feathers and blocked the claws to the side, sending them through the base walls. Jet folded one fan and aimed a piercing blow to Blue's visible brain, but Rouge flew in out of nowhere and kicked it to the ceiling. A moment later, Knuckles grabbed Blue by his arms and Tails pushed Jet away, keeping a distance between the two.

"Stop!" Tails ordered. "Fighting each other isn't going to solve anything!"

"It will make me feel better." Jet growled, attempting to push the fox aside.

"Anything works for me." Blue growled, struggling in Knuckles grip. "As long as I wipe that grin off that pigeon's face."

"I'm a hawk!!" Jet yelled.

"Stop this already." Knuckles said calmly. "Do you really think Sonic or the others would want us to fight?"

That blow struck both the infuriated heroes hard. They knew for a fact that Sonic, Shadow, and Silver valued friendship and would never turn against each other. Jet and Blue slowly started to calm, feeling their rage depleting from their hearts. Knowing they were starting to cool down, Tails and Knuckles released their friends; Rouge looked like she had a migraine.

"I should have just stuck with jewels." Rouge muttered.

"Hey, at least the worst is over." Tails said cheerfully.

Just then, the alarms blared and the G.U.N. Commander appeared on the television screen.

"You really need to learn to keep you mouth shut." Blue commented.

"What do you want, old man?" Jet asked rudely.

"Heroes, I know you're going through a tough time, but we need your help." The Commander said, ignoring Jet's comment. "While you have defeated Nazo, Eggman has taken the opportunity to go on the attack. He has sent an army of black clones to attack Megalo City, along with the elite clone, Violet."

"Perfect!" Blue shouted cheerfully. "All we have to do is beat a couple of fakes, take down my sister, and prove once and for all that I am the new leader."

"Not a chance, blob!" Jet snapped. "I'm clearly the best for the job!"

"Ahem!" The Commander spoke. "There's more to it. We've received word that there is someone else in Eggman's ranks."

"Got anything we can work on?" Rouge asked.

"Nothing much." The Commander shook. "All we know is that he's a teenage boy with amazing powers."

"We'll find out soon enough." Knuckles said seriously; He reminded everyone of Shadow. "We'll get right on it, sir."

The Commander nodded and vanished from the screen. Now normally, the heroes would use Chaos Control as transport to the location, but without the Chaos Emeralds, that plan was a bust. So, the heroes had to find their own way of transportation. Jet naturally took the Wind Rider, Tails and Rouge flew overhead, Blue used the water to his advantage, and Knuckles borrowed all the way there. But unknown to them, Emerl was watching them depart with Bokkun at his side.

"They're gone." Bokkun stated obviously.

"Yes." Emerl nodded. "Pass word to my father that my mission is near completion."

"Roger!" Bokkun saluted before flying off.

"Man, his voice is so annoying!" Emerl shivered.

* * *

The scene changes to the Megalo City, the most futuristic place in the whole world. The Meteor Tech robots were still offline after the ABIS, which would be considered a bad moment in the current situation. Currently, hundreds of Black Chaos Clones were swarming over the high-tech city, destroying everything in their path. Standing in the middle of the destruction was Violet, who was peacefully reading her newest book she had acquired.

"This is not as good as I expected." Violet commented, closing the book. "I am defiantly getting a refund."

"This is getting boring." Violet looked over and found Eggman's son, Rai, leaning against a street light. "Are we done yet?"

"Your father created this distraction in order to provide time for Emerl." Violet stated.

"He was talking?" Rai smirked. "I thought the old mammoth was just bellowing."

"You better watch your tongue, child." Violet said sophisticatedly. "It will eventually lead you to trouble."

"Says who?" Rai grimaced.

"FIRE DUNK!!"

As Violet and Rai looked back to the swarm of black clones, they saw a massive flame engulf them. When the embers passed, they could see Knuckles with his fists out front. As more began to gather around him, the echidna suddenly drilled underneath the street. A moment later, a pile of gold rings dropped from the sky and exploded in the clones faces. To those who had survived, Rouge performed her signature drill kick and snapped their heads clean off. Knuckles reemerged from the ground across from Violet and Rai, shortly joined by Tails and Rouge.

"You were saying." Violet said humorously.

"Shut up." Rai pouted.

"Hey, Knuckles." Tails whispered to the echidna. "Is that Rai, the guy you talked about?"

"Yeah, that's him." Knuckles replied before shouting. "Rai, what are you doing with these creeps?!"

"Eh, I had nothing better to do." Rai shrugged.

"But why are you helping them?" Rouge questioned. "From what I heard, you were supposed to be a great guy."

"That's flattering." Rai grinned wildly. "But you're not my type."

At that comment, several veins could be seen from the top of Rouge's skull. But none of them were compared to the one on Knuckles. Tails grabbed both of them by their tails; he blushed heavily when he grabbed Rouge, to stop them from killing the boy.

"Let me go!" Knuckles roared. "I'm gonna kill him!"

"Whoa, they're really steamed." Rai chuckled.

"They show hostility towards you." Violet commented. "You definitely Eggman's son."

"Eggman's son!" Violet and Rai looked back, where they found Jet and Blue standing directly behind them. They seemed to have been planning a sneak attack, but Jet unfortunately tipped them off. "Oops."

"Oops?" Blue repeated. "Nice cover, you've done this before?"

With their original plan failed, the two went on a basic forward attack. Jet swung his fans and Blue swiped his claws, but both villains flipped their opposing adversaries overhead. As Blue and Jet landed on their backs, Violet jumped up and swung her leg down on her brother. Luckily, Blue dissolved his body into a puddle of water and reformed to his original state a few feet away.

"Leave my sister to me." Blue said confidently. "You just take care of the other guy."

"But you can't beat her all by yourself." Tails said. "She's way to advance for you."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Blue sweat-dropped.

"I don't usually admit this, but Tails is right." Knuckles supported; Tails glared at the echidna's back. "You can't win if you fight alone."

"I can and I will!" Blue shouted determined.

"Wait!" Knuckles called.

"Then I guess this guy is mine." Jet grinned, running at Rai.

"But I – What the – huh?" Knuckles said confused.

"Use whole sentences, Knuckie." Rouge giggled.

Knuckles pouted at his fiancés comment, but didn't have time to make a comeback. A moment later, the black clones that were scattered throughout the city jumped down and surrounded the trio. Naturally, Tails and Rouge flew up when the clones piled up, but they seemed to have forgotten someone. Luckily, Knuckles used his shovel claws to burrow his way away from the clones. With most of the enemy gathered together, Tails threw down a handful of handmade paralysis rings. The clones stiffened and were rendered helpless, leaving them wide open for attack. Rouge flew overhead of them and dive bombed the horde, spinning at an unparalleled rate.

"SCREW KICK!!" Rouge called.

Rouge swiped past the clones in drilling formation, reducing them to piles of black liquid. She landed safely, but soon realized that she had missed one. The one remaining finally broke free from the power of the ring and extended its sharpened claws to her. Rouge would have dived out of the way, but she unconsciously slipped on one of the black puddles, falling backwards. Just as the claw made its attempt, it was suddenly stopped. The clones gasped in horror and turned its head to the side, attracting Rouge's attention. They could both see Knuckles with his namesake through the clone's chest.

"Don't you ever hurt my future wife." Knuckles growled. The fierce echidna watched the black clone dissolve for a moment before helping the tripped up bat. "Are you all right?"

"I'm just fine." Rouge said proudly. "I had that creep right where I wanted him."

"And I suppose falling on your butt was a part of your plan." Knuckles said.

"It wasn't intentional." Rouge said flirtingly. "But I'm sure you wouldn't mind."

"Can we save this for later?" Tails said, flying down to the two; Knuckles had a nosebleed. "Right now, we have bigger problems."

"Like what?" Rouge questioned.

At that moment, Blue flew past the trio and tumbled backwards on the ground. Being made of water, Blue couldn't easily get visible injuries, but his left eye was leaking yellow blood. Violet appeared over him and thrust both her claws straight down to her brother. Acting fast, Blue pushed against the ground and flipped sideways to avoid the assault. Blue though he was safe, but that was before Violet used her arms to slingshot herself at him. With rapid speed and powerful feet, Violet stamped Blue in the chest and sent him rocketing down the street. Blue collided with a stop sign and was splattered across the pavement. Blue weakly pulled himself together, but was unable to move even a finger. Violet landed in front and crouched down to his level.

"This all could have been avoided if you were to accept your fate." Violet said lowly.

"That's the difference between you and me." Blue said weakly. "I can chose to be free and not a worthless puppet."

"You disgraceful...!!"

Violet raised her claw and swung it down with heavy force. She was an inch away from connecting with her brother's skull until she suddenly stopped. Blue looked up, curious at why she didn't finish, and found his sister stiff as a statue. He looked down to her feet and found a purple ring on the ground.

"Thanks for the save, Tails!" Blue called.

"No problem!" Tails shouted back.

"That takes care of one of them." Rouge said.

"Yeah, but that still leaves the biggest problem." Knuckles said seriously.

Back in the fight against Rai and Jet, the emerald hawk wasn't fending very well. Jet originally started out by merely swinging his fans at a regulated stance, but Rai would dodge each swipe effortlessly. The more Jet attacked, the more he realized Rai was just playing with him. The Babylon leader, being easily agitated, was already pissed with the redhead after the first ten swings. Now Jet was swiping at Rai unconditionally with his fans moving in every direction possible. But Rai still sidestepped every time and even had time to read a page from Violet's book; He tossed it a moment later.

"Man, can this get anymore boring." Rai yawned.

"You know, I'm really starting to get pissed." Jet growled.

"That's not good for you." Rai said wisely. "I hear birds molt under stress."

"I am not molting!" Jet screamed; a green feather dropped to the ground. "That one doesn't count!"

"Can we just get this over with?" Rai said bored. "Let's face it, you can't beat me."

"Oh yeah." Jet smirked; his green Ark started to glow. "Let's see what you think about this. GRAVITY DIVE!!"

Rai stared curiously as a small black hole appeared out of nowhere in front of the emerald hawk. Taking satisfactory of Rai's confusion, Jet jumped into the black hole. A second later, he was shot forward at incredible speeds that reviled Sonic. The street, buildings, and windows all cracked and shattered as Jet shot by them. Rai was caught off guard by this, which gave Jet and perfect chance to attack. Despite the pressure of gravity, Jet managed to outstretch his fans and swipe across Rai's chest as he passed by. When Jet landed, gravity resumed its course and the flying objects dropped.

"Showed him." Jet boasted.

"Whoa! That was awesome!" Jet's eyes shot wide and turned around to find Rai; a large cut across his chest. "You have to show me how to do that!"

"No way." Jet muttered.

Using whatever senses he had left, which wasn't much, Jet took a desperate stab with his fans. Rai merely moved his head to the left and caught the fan with his shoulder blade. Jet tugged at his fan, but it refused to give way. Finally, Rai kneed his in the chest, forcing the emerald bird to his knees. Rai grabbed Jet's fan from his shoulder and threw it at the hawk's forehead, pushing him to his back.

"Nothing personal, pal." Rai said. "Just doing what my dad told me."

Rai holds out his hands and begins to form an orb of blue energy in his palm. Rai didn't seem happy, but unleashed the blast nonetheless. Jet was fearful for his life and snapped his eyes shut. Surprisingly, the attack didn't hurt as much as he thought it would. When he opened his eyes, he found out why. Knuckles, who was hunched over him, took the hit in the back instead.

"Knuckles!" Rouge cried as she and the others ran to his side.

"Hey, you all right, man." Jet asked worried.

"I'm fine." Knuckles wheezed. "But right now, we need to get you to safety."

"Are you crazy?" Jet said seriously, standing over the echidna. "You're the one in need of help."

"Growing up as a guardian, I've learned a few things." Knuckles panted, slowly getting to his feet. "When you protect something important to you, you protect it with your life. And right now, you guys are what's most important."

"Knuckles..." Blue whispered.

"That was so beautiful." Rai sniffed, blowing into a tissue. "So heart moving. You guys deserved an Oscar."

"Uh...thanks?" Tails sweat-dropped.

"But, unfortunately, I have to beat you guys now." Rai grinned.

"That won't be happening anytime soon." Knuckles said pounding his namesakes.

As Knuckles bashed his fists together, a wave of flames engulfed them together. AT the same time, Rai cupped his hands together and began to gather a large amount of blue energy into his palms.

"FIRE DUNK!!" Knuckles yelled.

"KA-ME-HA-ME-HA!!" Rai cried.

A pillar of fire formed from the tip of Knuckles' namesakes and a beam of blue energy formed from Rai's hands. As the two attacks collided, it became obvious that Rai's attack was stronger. Slowly, but surely, the flames were pushed back to their creator. Rouge pleaded to her future husband to get out of the way, but Knuckles was stubborn as usual. As Rai started adding pressure on the echidna, he slowly began to realize that the flames were creeping up the beam. Rai suddenly released his attack and stared as the flames started to form together.

"Ok, that's different." Rai commented.

"The most powerful attack of the echidna legacy." Knuckles smirked. "The Living Flames."

The raging fire slowly started to rise from the ground and took the shape of a prowling wolf. The flame wolf snarled and raced to the human boy. Using his special gift, Rai pushed off and levitated in the air. Rai laughed as the fire wolf snapped and jumped at the boy with no effect. That was until it turned into a screeching falcon. Knowing that he wasn't getting anywhere with this unusual creature, Rai grabbed Violet, who was still frozen in place, and raced across the sky back to Eggman's base; the fire beast burst into a display of sparks.

"Now that was awesome." Rai grinned.

Violet sweat-dropped, wishing to slap the boy silly.

* * *

The scene returns to the Sonic Heroes base. Knuckles was sitting at one of the beds in the infirmary as Rouge applied some ointment to his back; the other three were standing around him. But instead of a gentle touch, she slapped the medicine on him.

"Yow!" Knuckles whined. "What was that for?"

"For being an idiot." Rouge glared. "You could have died like that."

"But at least he didn't" Tails said brightly. "In fact, he saved all of us."

"You were awesome out there." Jet complimented.

"You were strong and dedicated." Blue nodded. "I guess we made the right choice."

"Choice?" Knuckles repeated. "What choice?"

"On the way back, we talked for a bit." Tails explained. "And after what you did today, we decided to make you leader."

"Leader? Me?" Knuckles asked in surprise. "But what about Blue or Jet?"

"Hey, you saved both our lives because you care." Jet shrugged. "We only fought for ourselves."

"A true leader thinks of others before himself." Rouge added smiling.

"I guess I should say thanks." Knuckles smiled. "I know I won't be as good as Shadow or Sonic, but I'll do my best. I swear that as long as I live, no one will ever suffer again."

The gathered heroes praised and cheered for the newest leader. But unknown to them, Emerl was watching from around the corner. His eyes were fixated on Knuckles and slowly started to scan his body signature.

"Power process complete." Emerl stated. He stared down at his hand and slowly started to build a green aura around it. "Now I can control the Master Emerald." He clutched his fist. "I will save you, mother."

* * *

The scene alters to a barren land were the rivers were lava and the air was filled with molten ash. In the center of this land stood a colossal black tower; inside the tower was a small circular room with five black seats. The room remained unoccupied until five of the most gruesome creatures appeared and took a seat. There were known throughout history and legend as the God of Death: Yama, Anubis, Hades, Grim Reaper, and the Devil.

"Any news of the situation." The Devil questioned.

"It is unfortunate." Grim Reaper shook. "Ever since he appeared, there have been more disturbances than normal. If this were to continue, he will surely regain enough power to destroy the Council of Death."

"Why not send him to the lower rings." Yama questioned. "Leave him to Malebolgia and his ilk."

"It is impossible now." Hades stated hopelessly. "We felt it alone for too long. He's too powerful for any of us to control."

"So the rumors are true." Anubis sighed. "Nazo has become the King of Hell."

Far away from the black tower, hordes of the most evil and darkest creatures in the universe were gathered at the base of a cliffside. Some of the monsters were recognized as Nazo's creations. At the top of the cliff, two unknown figures stood in praise. One was a black crow with a white flame tattoo on his wrist. He wore white boots, white gloves, and a long white cloak with the symbol of the Babylon Rogue's on the back. His name was Rodrigo. The second was black hedgehog with five pointed quills and purple stripes going up his arms. He wore purple boots and grey gloves with red eyes. His name was Corrupt. The two held up their hands, silencing the roaring crowd.

"My fellow captives!" Corrupt echoed. "How long has it been since we suffered such torture? Never! That pathetic Council of Death have made us endure an eternity of pain and grief in this land of ash."

"But not anymore." Rodrigo continued. "For now, we have a savior. A great and vile warrior who will overthrow the council and bring us what we have all ways desired.

"All bow and obey Lord Nazo!" The two exclaimed.

The two dark masterminds stepped aside and bowed as Nazo, the God of Darkness stepped past them. The crowd below chanted and roared at their savior's appearance. Nazo waved his hand, ordering them to silence.

"My brave soldiers!" Nazo called. "All preparations have been set for the final phase our plan! The Winter Solstice will arrive soon and we shall bring Hell to Earth to repay those who have allowed us to exist in such pestilence! And once all light is extinguished, darkness shall rule the universe for all of eternity!"

"All Hail, Lord Nazo!!"

* * *

**With new light comes new darkness. Will Emerl succeed in capturing the Master Emerald? Will Nazo's new army be enough to end the world? Why am I asking you these questions? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**

**Note: This chapter is dedicated to those who have suffered pains and losses during the hurricanes.**

* * *

**Project: Hellzone is nearly upon us and I have one last poll for you to choose. I decided to mae it a chapter focused around Fan charecters. Which one will you choose?**

**A) Naga vs. Gemini and Armand  
B) Pirate Crew vs. Bat Colony  
C) South Island vs. Nightshade**

**Vote now!**


	63. Soldier of Darkness

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Gemini © DarkspineSilver92  
Armand © SupergamerGreg79

Chapter Sixty-Three: Soldier of Darkness

The scene opens up to a far-off plain near the center of Australia. As expected, there were many different species of animals that roamed and grazed off the land; none of them were anthro. As a family of kangaroos drank near a watering hole, they were unaware of a lurking predator gazing from a safe distance. The savage beast crouched low in the high grass, edging closer to its prey. When it was close enough, a ravenous tiger lurched from its place. Just as it neared its prey, it was suddenly tackled to the ground by two blurs; the family of kangaroos fled. The tiger swatted and clawed at its attackers until one of them snapped its neck, effectively killing it.

"Well, that was boring." The first said.

"I thought he would have put up a better challenge." The second said.

The two figures crouched down to the dead tiger, revealing themselves to both be Gemini Rose. No one had seen or heard from the hedgehog since he was rescued from the top of the Golden Gate Bridge. After nearly dying from the experience, Gemini went back to his usual life of gambling. But one day, Gemini felt himself compelled by an unknown force to leave. Being away from civilization for so long, he was unaware of Sonic, Shadow, and Silver's death.

"Why are we here again?" Gemini #1 whined.

"You should know!" Gemini #2 shouted exasperatedly. "You're me after all!"

"Watch your tone!" Gemini #1 said sternly. "I don't need this kind of stress!"

"I don't need to be arguing with...myself?" Gemini #2 said confused.

"Look, we need to pull ourselves together." Gemini #1 said logically.

Both Gemini's nodded and walked into one another, becoming one body again. All of a sudden, Gemini's head began to throb again. The reason he separated in the first place was to relieve the stress in his head. Suddenly, images started flashing around his mind; many of them involving a green serpent, a blue-haired boy, and an army of shadows. The pressure became so strong that it forced the doppelganger hedgehog to his knees.

"_...You can't escape you past..._"

"Get out of my head." Gemini groaned.

"Stan?" A new voice called. "Stan, did ya find anything?"

The sound of the voice brought Gemini back to his senses. Being in distance territory, it was very unusual to see anyone else roaming the plains. As a precaution, Gemini climbed to the top of a tree and hid in the bushes of leaves. He could see the grass moving below and watch the unknown figure step out into the open. Gemini found it very suspicious for a purple tiger to be wandering the Australian plains. What Gemini didn't realize was that the tiger was Armand Novak the Tiger.

"Hey, Stan, what's with...?" Armand found himself looking down at the body of the tiger Gemini killed. If there was one thing Gemini didn't expect him to do, it's cry. "NO!! Stan, why?! Who could have done this to you?! Stan!!"

"You named that thing?" Gemini unconsciously said.

Gemini slapped his hand over his mouth, but the damage was done. Armand's ear perked up at the sound and attracted his attention. Using his eyes, Armand couldn't find anything, but using his watch, now that was a completely different story. Armand pressed a button on his watch and a rest screen appeared over the face plate. It was a thermal scanner and Armand located Gemini's body heat in no time.

"Gotcha!" Armand exclaimed.

Armand pressed another button and created a blue laser sword. The agitated tiger jumped up and swung the sword around, barely missing Gemini by an inch. As Armand landed, Gemini jumped back to the ground; the tree toppled over.

"And just who are you?" Gemini sighed.

"I am Armand Novak the Tiger." Armand stated. "Son of the great Tobias Novak the Tiger."

"Never heard of him." Gemini said simply.

"Oh, come on!" Armand yelled. "Look, just tell me who you are so I can kill you."

"The name's Gemini." Gemini introduced. "Why do you want to kill me?"

"You killed Stan." Armand said, pointing to the dead tiger.

"How was I supposed to know he was yours?" Gemini shrugged.

"Roar!" Armand yelled.

"Ok, you have to admit that was really pathetic." Gemini sniggered.

"I know." Armand said sadly.

In Armand's moment of distraction, Gemini separated himself into two hedgehogs. To most normal people, this would be unusual, but Armand was not even fazed by the tactic. As both Gemini's charged at the tiger, Armand pressed another button on his watch to release a laser net. This caught both of the duo hedgehogs off-guard, but only one of them was trapped inside the net. As the first Gemini tried to help his twin, Armand released another laser net from his watch. The trapped Gemini say this and warned his twin, allowing him to dodge out of the way.

"You know, there are two things I hate." Gemini #2 said angrily. "Losing and fish."

"Fish?" Armand repeated.

"I get hives, ok?!" Gemini exclaimed.

Armand broke out in fits of laughter, which pissed Gemini off. Leaving his twin behind, Gemini jumped at the tiger and swung his leg around. Armand pressed a button on his watch and created a laser shield around his arm. Armand may have been able to block the first kick, but he was unprepared when Gemini dropped and tripped at his feet. Armand fell on his back, but rolled out of the way as Gemini kicked at the ground. Gemini's twin finally broke free from the net and intended to join the fight until something caught his eyes. Armand dropped something when he tripped and Gemini picked it up. It was the silver medal given to him last time he met Team Virtex; Gemini clearly remembered the markings.

"This is..." Gemini #1 muttered. He stared back at the purple tiger, who was still fighting Gemini's twin, and called out. "Hey, where did you get this from?!"

"Huh?" Armand questioned, pushing back Gemini #2. He looked to the other Gemini and saw him holding the silver medal. "Hey, give that back! That was given to me by a friend of mine!"

"This is Rector's sign, isn't it?" Gemini #1 asked lowly, handing the medal back.

"Yeah, it is." Armand said cautiously, taking the medal. "How did you know?"

"Because he's our cousin." Gemini #1 stated.

"Cousin?!" Armand exclaimed.

"Maybe we should talk some other place." Gemini #2 said scarcely.

"How come?" Gemini #1 asked.

The trio took another look at their surroundings and found that they were surrounded by a pack of leopards.

"Oh, that's why." Armand nodded.

The leopords attacked, but you already know the outome. Looks like Gemini will get some nice trophies for his wall. Later that night, Armand and Gemini were gathered around a fire that Armand made. Gemini, who, for some reason, brought frying pan, was cooking the leftover meat from the leopards. Armand was crying over the grave of Stan the Tiger; Gemini sweat-dropped.

"You done yet?" Gemini asked as Armand walked back.

"Yeah, I'm good." Armand said cheerfully. "So, any idea when food will be done?"

"I don't know." Gemini shrugged. "I usually have my chefs cook all my meals."

"Sound's like your loaded." Armand smirked.

"I am." Gemini grinned. "I legally own over half the casinos in Casinopolis."

"Nice." Armand laughed.

"I know; I'm awesome." Gemini boasted. "Say, I noticed that watch of yours during the fight. Where'd you get it from?"

"My dad gave it to me." Armand said pleasingly, staring at his watch. "It was his greatest invention. He taught me all the designs and schematics so that I could one day use it. This watch can do everything from scanners to weapons. The only thing it can't do is tell time."

"It can't tell time?" Gemini asked.

"There was no more room for the clock." Armand explained.

"I've visited Megalo City once, but none of their technology is as advanced as that." Gemini stated. "Where did your dad get the parts to make something like that?"

"I...really don't know." Armand said insecurely. "My dad never told me anything other than how to work this watch. Sure, he was there when I needed him, but a lot of the time I usually kept his distance. He never told me anything about my mother, where we come from, or why I have to carry this watch. I think he once tried to tell me, but he died."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Gemini said sorrowfully. "It must be nice not knowing your own past."

"Hey, I was just wondering." Armand spoke up. "If your Rector's cousin, why hasn't he ever mentioned you."

"He probably still hasn't forgiven me." Gemini said. "Rector and I haven't talked to each other in seven years."

"How come." Armand asked curiously.

"It was my fault that Aunt Tilla, Rector's mother, died." Gemini sneered.

"What happened?" Armand asked.

"Back then, I was just a young boy." Gemini explained. "I was abandoned by my parents and dropped off to an orphanage. Everyday, I would stand at the gate, hoping to see my mom and dad again, but they never came. I began to lose hope until Naga showed up."

"Naga..." Armand said thoughtfully. "I know I heard that name from somewhere." Armand starts tinkering with his watch and pulls up a screen with the familiar venomous snake wearing a white lab coat. "Here he is. Naga the Snake was once a scientist that once worked for the king of South Island. Years later, he was sentenced to execution for crimes against the new queen and her newborn son." Armand turns off his watch. "It says he escaped, but nothing else is known."

"I wouldn't expect anyone to know." Gemini said. "Naga hasn't been around long enough for anyone to know."

"What do you mean?" Armand asked.

"Well, he..."

"We wouldn't want you to spoil everything would we?"

The sound of the voice sent trembles down Gemini's spine. Armand jumped to his feet at the sound, only to find himself thrown back down by a green fist. Gemini sat there and watched as the fist retreated to the shadows and the master behind the assault emerged. Naga the Snake hissed in malevolence at Gemini's cowardice and walked behind him, kneeling to his level.

"I see you haven't forgotten." Naga hissed.

"What do you want from me?" Gemini growled. "What more could you possibly take?"

"You can't escape your past." Naga hissed. "You cannot tell me you do not miss that lust you once held."

"I'm not like that anymore." Gemini glared.

"Then prove it." Naga challenged.

On the reaction, Gemini twisted his body around and took a wild kick to the center. Unfortunately, Naga used his stretching abilities to move his chest out of the way. Unexpectedly, Gemini threw off his left glove and grasped Naga by his wrist. The venomous snake felt a sudden sting from the place where Gemini and spat a strong venom from his fangs. Luckily, Gemini ducked down to avoid the venom and back-flipped away from the viper. For a moment, it seemed the sting did nothing, but that was until Naga noticed a change in Gemini. The hedgehog turned from brown to green and his fur became smooth as scales.

"That's interesting." Naga hissed intriguingly.

"I thought you might like it." Gemini smirked. "I learned it after you took my powers away."

"So in exchange from losing your powers, you can mimic others." Naga stated. "I'll have to do some research on that."

"MEGA LASER!!"

Naga's eyes widened at the sound and shot around in time to see massive red laser headed in his direction. On the reaction, Naga bowed his head and lowed himself into the ground below, effortlessly avoiding the attack. Unfortunately, Gemini was also in its range of fire. Using the powers he copied from Naga, Gemini twisted his body in an unusual angle to avoid the laser. Unfortunately, when he snapped back to shape, his limit with those powers had depleted. Naga's head burst from the ground and gazed in the direction the attack originated. He found Armand and looked surprisingly pleased.

"It can't be him." Naga hissed, pulling himself from the ground. "Is that you, Tobias?"

"You know my dad?" Armand asked, smiling. "Finally, someone knows!"

"No, you're not Tobias." Naga hissed. "You just merely his son possessing the Novak."

"The Novak?" Armand repeated.

"That watch you wear around your wrist." Naga answered. "Tobias named it after himself."

"You sure know a lot about the watch." Armand said cautiously.

"Of course I know about it." Naga said. "I'm the one who designed it."

"You what?!" Armand exclaimed.

"That's right." Naga cackled. "I created the plans for the Novak, but it was your father that provided the technology. The kind of tech I required could not be found in this world, so Tobias had to travel back to his own."

"What do you mean?" Armand asked desperately.

"It's amazing how little your father told you." Naga shook. "You see, neither you or your father come from this world. In fact, at this current time, neither of you exist."

The new information dealt a hard blow to Armand's heart. Was what Naga said the truth? If his father had worked with the cruel serpent, how come he had never mentioned it before? Armand was so confused; he dropped to his knees and clutched his head, sobbing. Taking pride in his work, Naga thrust his foot forward and kicked Armand in the chest ten feet away. As Naga retracted his leg, he held both his arms high to block both kicks from the two Gemini's. The Gemini's landed and rebounded off the ground, throwing their feet forward. Naga saw this and, against all logic, forced his body to be as thin as paper. Once both Gemini's passed by, both amazed by the feat, Naga restored his depth and grasped them both by their heads.

"You dare to challenge me?" Naga said angrily. "Have you forgotten who it was that taught you to fight? You should be down on your bended knee, thanking me for saving you from an empty life."

"I would prefer a life empty than a life filled with evil." Gemini #1 growled.

"You were never a father to me." Gemini #2 sneered. "You took everything away from me."

"That was your own fault." Naga hissed. "If you had killed Thorn like a said, your aunt would not have died."

"I've had enough of this!" Gemini #1 "What have you done with my darkness?!"

"Is that what this is about?" Naga questioned. "Well, after you failed, I decided to take back what was mine. I treated you as my own out of the kindness of my heart, yet you still turned against me. You could have done well, my soldier of the darkness."

"You don't know anything about me." Gemini #2 muttered.

"I know well enough." Naga whispered close to his ear. "Orion is waiting."

Before either Gemini could ask who Gemini was, Naga suddenly tightened his grip around their heads; his claws digging into their skulls. Just when victory seemed so close, Naga was suddenly forced to release them. Armand had picked himself up and tackled Naga in the chest. The Gemini's landed on either side of the tiger as Naga held his chest.

"You filthy feline!" Naga yelled.

"I don't know what happened between you and my dad." Armand said seriously. "But I won't let you escape."

"Do you intend to defeat me with that Mega Laser of yours?" Naga laughed. "At the speed it moves, I will be long gone by then."

"Then this should raise the stakes."

Before Naga even had a chance to react, both Gemini's came up behind him and forced his hands behind his back. They made good time, too. The Mega Laser required time to recharge after every launch and their conversation gave them enough time to perform another shot. As Armand set up the preparations, Naga continued to struggle from the twin's grips; they did not release.

"You are truly idiotic." Naga hissed. "Are you really willing to give your own life for a single chance."

"Hey, I love gambling." Gemini #2 smirked.

"MEGA LASER!!" Armand shouted.

And with a single switch, Armand once again released the massive red beam from his watch. Nag, now panicking, increased his struggle to break free from the grip. He managed to take back one of his arms, but by the time he could use it, the beam had already shot through his chest. The Gemini who released his grip was safe from the beam, but the one who held on lost his left arm. Naga's dead body fell backwards and slammed into the ground; his eyes rolled back to his head.

"Hey, you all right?" Armand asked, noticing Gemini's wound. "Sorry about that."

"Hey, it's no problem." Gemini #1 smirked. The twin with his arm blown off returned to the main body; no signs that he was injured. "That arm will grow back; I just need to stay away from the duplication for a while."

"At least we took care of him." Armand said, referring to Naga. "Although, I did have some questions for him about my dad."

"Then you should ask him next time." Gemini grimaced.

Armand turned his head in confusion; Gemini rolled his eyes and moved closer to Naga's dead body. He reached for the vipers face and rips off the skin. Armand looked ready to hurl until he noticed something wrong. Instead of internal organs, there was a teenage boy wear the snake's skin.

"Ok, what's up?" Armand questioned. "Why aren't we looking at dead boy instead of a dead snake?"

"Naga never took the chances to show his real face." Gemini explained. "He would always send someone disguised as him to fool others. He has sent so many minions that some people don't even believe he exists."

"So, now what?" Armand asked.

"I don't know about you, but I'm going after that filthy serpent." Gemini said, clutching his fist. "Naga is too dangerous to be left alive."

"Well, I'm going to go look for my friends." Armand smiled. "But if you ever need a hand, I'll find my way to you."

"I appreciate it." Gemini nodded.

The two stare at one another for a moment before slamming their fists together as a sign of friendship. And so, the two heroes went their separate ways. But before Gemini had even taken his tenth step, he could here crying coming from behind. He turned around and saw Armand sobbing over Stan's grave.

"Stan! Why?!" Armand cried.

Gemini sweat-dropped.

* * *

The scene alters to a bright and sunny land, where a small village was hidden in a row of mountains. The people of the village were cheerful and not plagued by the distress of the outside world. But their time of joy did not last long. While everyone was out on their morning duties, one worker was suddenly lifted off the ground and into the sky. The other people on the street watched as the man was dragged of by a winged monster; their time of fear had come.

"Run! They're here!" One man yelled.

"They've finally come!" A woman shouted

"It's the Bat Colony!" Another screamed.

Suddenly, over thirty winged figures dropped from the sky and began to tear the land apart. The winged figures were actually bat from the same species as Rouge, only they were more savage and came in a variety of colors. They all wore the same silver armor with a black bat symbol on the shoulders. Everywhere they went, the bats would rip apart homes and mercilessly slaughter the innocent villagers. In one of the alleys, a black bat had caught a shaking women and her two infant children at a dead end.

"Why are you doing this?" The woman sobbed.

"Do we need a reason?" The bat grinned.

The black bat raised his claw and brought in down on the woman and child. But high in the mountains above, five figures were watching as the calamity unfolds. Three of them were bat soldiers: red, blue, and green; all of them wearing crimson armor with black capes. They were kneeling to the two figures in front, one of which happened to be Kai, Naga's most loyal servant. The other figure was a white bat wearing a long red coat, grey boots with purple lines down the sides, and a black locket hanging from his neck.

"Why do you attack this village?" Kai questioned monotone. "What is the point?"

"To relieve our stress." The white bat known replied. "After all these years, we have still not succeeded in our plans." He held the black locket in his hands. "No matter how hard we try, we cannot open the locket."

"Any ideas on a solution." Kai questioned.

"This locket was previously owned by Rynod, our former leader." The white bat stated. "He kept it as a last resort against those who dared to challenge him. But when he was killed by Gale and his crew, we lost our last chance to open it. We believe only those who share his blood can open this accursed locket."

"Then why not ask his daughter to open it." Kai said sarcastically.

"Daughter?" The white bat repeated.

"As you recall, Rynod was married during the time he took over South Island." Kai said. "But when his wife stood in his way, he banished her to a far-off land. He didn't realize it at the time, but she was pregnant with his child."

"And do you know who this person is?" The white bat questioned.

"I believe you know her quite well." Kai said. "Here's a little hint."

Kai reached into his jacket and pulled out a card, which he tossed to the white bat. The bat caught the card and stared for a moment before showing it to his men. They gazed at it for a moment and nodded.

"Find her and bring her back alive." The white bat commanded forcefully.

The trio of bats nodded, stretched their wings and took off into the sky. The white bat tossed the card over his shoulder and flew down to the village to join in the carnage. Kai smirked for the first time and looked down to the card at his feet. It was a black card with a silhouette of a figure in the background. A red heart shined at the chest of the figure with a cursive writing below saying '_Thank you'_.

"You're in for a big surprise, Rouge." Kai murmured.

* * *

**New mysteries and problems begin to arise. What is the secret behind Armand's origin? Will Gemini find his darkness? And what shall become of Rouge and the mysterious Bat Colony. Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	64. Angel of Death

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Final Fantasy VII © Square Enix

Note: I have placed a sneak preview of my next series. Try to guess what it is.

Chapter Sixty-Four: Angel of Death

The scene opens to a far-off region in the central parts of Japan. Hidden beneath the wide forest was a winding dirt road that only very few people could find. It is here that we find Howl the Wolf dashing across the treetops. Unlike his usual demeanor, Howl seemed worried to the point where he would lash out at anything that would move.

"_How is this possible?_" Howl thought. "_Such a thing has never happened before._"

A few days ago, after returning from a mission with Marine, Howl received a letter from his old master. It's been over a year since the honorable wolf had heard from him and felt overjoyed when he received the letter. But when he read the paper, he had fled the country immediately. Even now, Howl stared at the letter he brought with him.

_Dear, Howl._

_I am glad that we will have a chance to speak,  
but this is not the time for such things._

_Many of the elders have felt a disturbing presence coming from the central statue.  
The elders fear that the Masamune may be reacting to an unknown entity that has entered our realm.  
You are the only one who has been able to wield the Masamune without being eaten by its darkness.  
Howl, please return to our land and fix this crisis._

_Master Nyrox_

"_How could the Masamune become active?_" Howl thought, jumping from one branch to another. "_Whoever touches the Masamune would be consumed by the darkness; just like Xenot._"

Howl stopped for a moment, reliving a terrible memory that played in his mind. He shook his head for a moment and jumped above the trees. Not far away, he could see the hidden path coming to an end and sighted his former training grounds. Unfortunately, what he found was not what he hoped. Mounds of smoke arose around the crumpled walls that once stood around the temple, but the temple itself remained intact.

"No!!" Howl exclaimed. "Please, don't let them be dead!"

Howl jumped down and ran faster in the direction of the temple. He ran across the steel doors, which were now slammed into the ground, and entered the training grounds. Howl had to cover his nose to prevent the intoxicating scent of blood from knocking him out. Everywhere he looked, dead bodies of fellow swordsman was torn or slashed across the ground.

"Hello!" Howl called. "Is anyone still here?!"

"A little help here!" A voice called from a pile of rubble.

"Hold on." Howl said.

Howl ran over towards the rubble and unsheathed his sword in assistance. Kicking off the ground, Howl flipped into the air and started spinning in a whirlwind. Howl's attack easily cut through the mass of rocks, landing back on his feet, and returned his blade back to its sheath. He turned back to his ally as he started to rise from the rubble.

"About time someone came." The figure groaned. "Man, I'm gonna need a chiropractor after this."

"You can worry about that later." Howl stated. "By the way, it's nice to see you again, Xenot."

The one called Xenot turned to Howl as the wolf addressed him. Absolutely no part of his identity could be seen, which added to the mystery of this character. He wore a black battle suit that covered his entire body and several red markings on the sides. He also wore white boots, gloves, and a black helmet with white marks across the sides. On each of his gloves, he had the symbol of the same symbols as the Heartless and the Nobodies.

"Well, well, well." Xenot shook his head. "If it isn't Howl the Wolf. Long time, no punch."

"Still as arrogant as ever, Xenot." Howl said, rolling his eyes.

"Arrogance and pride are two different things." Xenot stated. "What are you doing back here? I thought you left to the west to hone in on your skills"

"I did and I have." Howl replied. "I'm now using my abilities to aid those in needs as a member of Team Virtex."

"Oh yeah, I heard of them." Xenot commented. "Some freak named Armand accidentally wandered in here and told us about you guys."

"I think we're getting a bit off track." Howl said seriously. "I received a letter from Master Nyrox saying that the Masamune was reacting again. I rushed back as fast as I could and I return to find this. What happened?"

"It's all kind of a blur, but I'll do my best to remember." Xenot muttered. "I remember the feeling the Masamune beginning to react. It's very hard to ignore something like that after you've experienced."

"Did anyone else know about this?" Howl asked.

"Only me." Xenot shook. "I informed Master Nyrox at once and he informed the rest of the elders."

"Where is Master Nyrox?" Howl said worried.

"He left a few hours ago." Xenot answered. "And just a few moments after he left, the temple came under attack. It was a human, so we didn't expect much. But after only a few seconds, he blasted down the doors and killed off all the guards."

"What was he doing here?" Howl questioned.

"He said he was here to reclaim something that belonged to him." Xenot stated. "We figured he was the reason the Masamune was reacting so wildly. Once the guards fell, the masters fought back alongside their students. But somehow, the man managed to kill all of them with his bare hands. It looked more like he was playing with them."

"Where is he now?" Howl asked.

"I didn't hear anyone leave, so he's probably still inside the temple." Xenot said.

"Then we better hurry." Howl said, running past Xenot.

"Hurry to where?" Xenot asked, racing alongside Howl.

"To the central statue." Howl said seriously. "The Masamune is in danger."

The two swordsmen dashed and swerved past the trails of dead bodies left behind; Howl still covered his nose, towards the center of the temple. As they reached the chamber of the central statue, they edge around the corner and stared into the room. It was a large room with red wall held up by eight massive columns. At the end of the room, there was gold statue of a human with angel wings that reached to the ceiling. Surprisingly enough, this was the only room in the whole temple that wasn't damaged.

"Do you see anything?" Xenot questioned.

"No, not a single person in sight." Howl replied.

"Maybe you can sniff him out." Xenot suggested.

"There is too much blood in the air." Howl said disgustedly. "If I try to catch his scent, the blood will knock out my senses."

"Well, that's great." Xenot said sarcastically. "Now what do we do?"

"Perhaps you should come out of hiding."

At the sound of the voice, the duo looked back towards the chamber. A man walked out from behind one of the columns and presented himself. He was a human man that appeared to be in his thirties with long silver hair. He wore a long black coat with silver pauldrons, black boots, and black clothing underneath. To many people, he would hardly be considered a threat, but Howl was the exception. Just looking into the man's sinister green eyes, he could tell he was powerful.

"Are you done hiding yet?" The man questioned. "I have some questions to ask."

"And so do we." Howl replied as he and Xenot moved out into the open. "For starters, who are you?"

"My name is Sephiroth." Sephiroth answered.

"Why did you come here?" Xenot demanded. "What did you hope to gain by attacking our temple?"

"As I said before, I am here to reclaim something that I've lost." Sephiroth said.

"You mean the Masamune." Howl glared.

"Preciously." Sephiroth said darkly. "A weapon that was long ago forged by the seeds of darkness. Only those who hold a strong heart and will shall be able to wield such a weapon." He smirks as he looks to Xenot. "Similar to a fate as his."

"You filthy..." Xenot growled.

"You won't find the Masamune." Howl stated confidently. "You've already killed the elders and they were the only ones who knew of its location. You quest has come to an end."

"Has it?" Sephiroth said menacingly. "Or is it truly the start of a new test?"

"What do you mean?" Xenot questioned.

"I can feel the Masamune calling out to me." Sephiroth explained. "I can feel its desire to return to its true master. But I could also feel that another master was attempting to take my place."

"Then that means..." Howl said horrifically.

"I've been waiting for you, Howl." Sephiroth said sinister.

Sephiroth holds his arm out to the golden statue and opens his palm as to call something. Suddenly, the started began to shake and crack until something burst forth from the head. It lunged at Sephiroth, who caught the item in question without even looking. He now wielded a six-foot katana that exhibited a dark aura around the steel of the blade.

"Ok, that's bad." Xenot commented casually.

"You think?!" Howl exclaimed.

"Show me what power you possess." Sephiroth smirked.

As Sephiroth stepped forward, Howl unsheathed his sword and held the blade in reverse; his usual way of fighting. It looked as if Xenot was about to draw his weapon, but before he could make his move, Sephiroth appeared in front of them.

* * *

The scene alters to the outside of the temple, where a large explosion could be seen from the side wall. From that explosion, Howl and Xenot were thrown out of the temple and tumbled across the training grounds. Since the scent of blood was more powerful outside, Howl was forced to create a makeshift mask from a piece of his clothing. As the dust cloud lifted, Sephiroth calmly walked outside with a confident expression.

"Man, what is this guy?" Xenot panted.

"I haven't seen such power since Nazo." Howl said tired. "And I doubt he even put any effort into that attack."

"You are more intelligent than I expected." Sephiroth said humorously. "Of course, that was without the Masamune." He slowly reached for his reacquired sword and drew it out. "Now the true horror begins."

Sephiroth drew the Masamune to his level and swiftly dashed across the field. If not for the extensive training sessions with Rector, Howl would have never been able to spot the silver-haired man. Howl quickly raised his blade and started swing it around at blinding speeds. Apparently, Sephiroth threw more than one swing as he passed by, but Howl blocked everyone of them. The noble wolf thrust back his foot, which Sephiroth blocked, but spun around and swung his blade backwards. Sephiroth held out his palm and effortlessly caught the sword in his grip. Sephiroth grinned and slowly pushed the blade backwards, forcing Howl to fall back along with him.

"Is that truly the best you can do? Sephiroth questioned. "I would have expected the Masamune to choose a stronger wielder than this."

"I'm...not one...to give in." Howl grunted.

"And for what reason would that be?" Sephiroth questioned.

"Here's one for starters!" Xenot shouted.

As the powerful swordsman looked over, he suddenly stepped back as a black rope-dart lashed past his face. This distraction allowed Howl the opportunity to escape. After he avoided the assault, Sephiroth cut across the rope-dart with the Masamune. Sephiroth looked over and saw Xenot, who was holding the other half of the rope-dart. As he stepped closer, Sephiroth suddenly realized that the rope-dart dissolved into spores of darkness and vanished.

"So, the Masamune did leave you with some gifts after all." Sephiroth commented.

"When I failed to wield, I was turned into living darkness." Xenot explained. "I was unable to exist in the light and was forced to shield myself in this suit. I've lost the ability to truly live, but I've gained others as well. Now, I can forge weapons from pure darkness and fight with the knowledge of a thousand warriors."

"Then this should prove to be an interesting outcome." Sephiroth smirked.

Xenot crossed his arms, clouds of darkness surrounding his hands, and summoned multiple black shuriken. The dark swordsman tossed them across the field, but Sephiroth easily caught them with one hand. Suddenly, a black chain wrapped itself around his arm with Xenot pulling the end. Xenot tugged at his end of the chain, hurtling the warrior forward, and called a black-bladed sai into his hand. Xenot stabbed forward at Sephiroth's face, but the dark warrior kicked off the ground and flipped over his opponent, wrapping the chain around his neck. As Sephiroth brought down the Masamune, Xenot dissolved the chain and summoned a black-steeled double-bladed sword, which he used to block.

"I must admit, you're power is formidable." Sephiroth complimented. "But that's only for a short while."

"Evil madman says what?!" Xenot said frantically.

All of sudden, Sephiroth's piercing green eyes begin to glow. At that moment, Sephiroth began push Xenot so far back that he slammed the masked swordsman into the wall of the temple. Xenot slumped to the ground; his weapon vanishing from weakness. Sephiroth held out his palm to deliver the finishing blow, but Howl jumped in and cut his across the wrist. While Sephiroth winced in pain, Howl grabbed Xenot and jumped to the other side of the training grounds. Once he knew that his friend was safe, Howl stood up and glared at the silver-haired swordsman.

"You are a persistent one." Sephiroth stated. "I am beginning to see why the Masamune doubted itself."

"My heart is strong because of my friends." Howl stated. "I know they provided the power I need to fight on."

"Is that your secret?" Sephiroth smirked. "Funny, you sound a lot like that boy with the Keyblade."

"Huh?" Howl said confused.

"Farewell." Sephiroth said darkly.

Before Howl could even react, Sephiroth suddenly appeared a few feet in front of Howl. The noble wolf raised his blade in defense, but it proved to be in vein. Sephiroth slashed the Masamune upwards, cutting across Howl's chest and shattering his blade in half. Howl fell backwards into the ground; his makeshift mask flying off. As Howl staggered to stand up, a sudden rush of blood scent entered into his sensitive nose. The overwhelming smells caused Howl to fall to his knees and hold his head in pain. Howl's vision also suffered as everything he saw doubled.

"I see, your weakness is your senses." Sephiroth said intriguingly, holding the Masamune to Howl's shoulder. "But such weaknesses are the reasons why the Masamune chose me." Sephiroth raised the Masamune over Howl's head, but, for some reason, did not bring it down. "Might I ask who you are?"

"No one." A voice said. "Just innocent bystander."

"_That voice..._" Howl thought surprisingly. "_Could that be...?_"

Though his senses were adjusting, Howl forced his vision to return to normal to see a figure standing near the destroyed doors. The man was a grey fox with silver lining roaming down his eyes. He wore a long red coat with a golden dragon on the back, black fingerless gloves, black boots, and a metal chain wrapped around his waist.

"Master Nyrox." Howl moaned.

"The master?" Xenot asked weakly. "He's back?"

"Hello, Howl." Nyrox greeted happily. "It's a pleasure to see you again."

"So, you're the master I've heard so much about." Sephiroth said, lowering his weapon. "Funny, but I expected you to be older from what the others have told me."

"Age is merely an illusion." Nyrox said wisely. "When one defies the illusion, they can transcend to greater possibilities."

"So that's the reason." Sephiroth said intriguingly. "You went against the laws of nature and you were able to retain a youthful body for so many years. But such an experience does not come without a price."

"It's true." Nyrox said nonchalantly. "I am currently paying for my crimes. But I will use what little time I have to live life to its fullest and protect those I hold close to my heart."

"Then you shall quench my thirst for a challenge?" Sephiroth requested.

"It that's what satisfies you." Nyrox bowed.

"It does." Sephiroth nodded.

For a moment, Sephiroth actually bowed to the master in respect. When both stood back up, Sephiroth skipped off the ground towards Nyrox. He swung the Masamune down on the aged fox, but it was suddenly halted. Light particles surrounded Nyrox's hand and formed into the shape of a yellow staff. With one hand behind his back, Nyrox knocked Sephiroth's hand away and swung around for a direct kick to the chest. None of Howl or Xenot's attacks affected him, but Sephiroth clutched his chest from that one kick. Clearly, Nyrox was a master for a reason.

"Your defiance has made your truly gifted." Sephiroth stated. "Then it would appear I no longer have a need to hold back."

"I merely seek to ensure my student's safety." Nyrox said. "There is no need to continue this fight."

"But there is." Sephiroth grimaced. "I must be stronger to complete my destiny."

While Nyrox looked interested, Sephiroth held his hand to the sky. Suddenly, several flaming meteors rained down from the sky and swarmed around the master. Nyrox merely slammed his staff to the ground, which formed a barrier of earth to protect himself. Sephiroth looked frustrated as his attack failed with every shot. Once the attack was over, the earth wall crumbled and Nyrox remained untouched. Sephiroth's eyes glowed in fury and thrust his hand out to shoot a sphere of pure darkness. Nyrox did not appear threatened and merely held out his open palm. Suddenly, a cluster of ice crystals appeared in his hand, which reflected the attack back at its creator. For the first time, Sephiroth appeared frightened and held his arms in defense. The attack made contact and exploded with mass effect.

"You did it, master!" Xenot cheered. "You truly are the greatest!

"Not so loud." Howl whined.

"I wouldn't be too sure, Xenot." Nyrox said monotone.

Both his students looked confused until he directed their attention to the sky. What they saw was something they never thought possible. Sephiroth was still alive, but now possessed a black angel wing that protruded from his right shoulder.

"That's impossible." Howl muttered.

"I have underestimated you, Master Nyrox." Sephiroth said respectfully. "I have much to learn before I can defeat you."

"What is it that you are really after?" Nyrox asked seriously.

"My existence is greater than others." Sephiroth stated. "I knew from when I was a child, I was destined for a greater purpose. My mother told me of my destiny and I have set out to complete it." He stares into the vast blue sky above. "I am destined to transcend beyond mortality and bring true order to the universe." He looks back to the trio below. "But if I am to truly bring order, I must get rid of those who hinder the peace I try to create."

"Your trying to exterminate all life in the universe." Nyrox summarized.

"What?!" Howl and Nyrox exclaimed.

"Exactly." Sephiroth nodded. "But before I can bring peace, I must eliminate the one man who continues to defy my mother and I." Sephiroth's black wing moves to cover his entire body. "Farewell."

Slowly, the feathers of his wings begin to fly off and Sephiroth faded away.

"Now what, Master Nyrox?" Howl asked.

"I do not believe he will be back for a while." Nyrox stated. "But we cannot take any chances. Xenot and I will begin our travels and hope to become stronger. I never hoped this would happen, but I must fight to protect my loved ones."

"But master!" Xenot shouted. "Your condition is..."

"There is nothing that can change my fate, Xenot." Nyrox said earnestly. "My heart is slowly giving out. One day, I will no longer be able to continue." He turns to Xenot. "By that time, I hope I will be able to find a cure for you, Xenot."

"Master..." Xenot whispered.

"It's been an honor fight alongside you, Master Nyrox." Howl said respectively, bowing to the master. "I hope that one day I will be able to reach your level of prowess."

"I'm sure you will, Howl." Nyrox said. "But it would seem that your blade was destroyed in the fight. You will require a replacement."

Nyrox holds out his hand and forges together a weapon from the particles of light. It was a katana similar to the one Howl previously owned, except the handle was bright yellow and the steel of the blade was pure white. Howl looked stunned at the gift he had received and hesitated to accept it. But once Howl touched the katana, it felt as if he had belonged.

"This is amazing." Howl said amazingly.

"I will hope it serves you well." Nyrox smiled.

"Good luck, Howl." Xenot said.

"Same to you." Howl grinned.

After saying their final good-byes, Howl, Nyrox, and Xenot went their separate ways. Howl decided it was time to head back home and practice his new katana; Rector was in deep trouble now. But with Master Nyrox and Xenot, the aged fox looked unsettling for a moment. It was a while before he finally addressed his student.

"Xenot, there's something important I need to tell you." Nyrox said seriously.

"What is it, master?" Xenot asked curiously.

"It's about your brother." Xenot stated. "He's still alive."

"He is?!" Xenot exclaimed joyously.

"Yes, your mother is currently searching for him." Nyrox informed.

"I can't believe it." Xenot murmured. "Kyuta is still alive."

* * *

The scene alters to Station Square...in another dimension. As a limo arrived at one of their mansions in the city, the butler opened the door for his master. He was a sixteen year-old boy with shoulder-length white hair and piecing yellow eyes. The boy looked bored as he walked toward the mansion, but suddenly stopped halfway.

"Geoffrey, please leave us for a moment." The boy commanded.

"As you wish, sir." Geoffrey said. "If you need me, I'll be on the phone with my therapist."

The butler known as Geoffrey wandered past the boy and entered into his mansion. It was a moment later when the boy turned to face his attention towards the entrance gates of the mansion.

"You know, you could ring the bell like everyone else." The boy said humorously.

Upon further inspection, we could see a man that did not appear to be in place. He looked about twenty-one years old with spiky blond hair. He wore half of a black coat over his left side with a wolf medal near the shoulder, black biker gloves, black pants, shoes, and a dark sweater underneath. The one thing that made his more unusual was his bright green eyes.

"So, how's it going, buddy." The boy chuckled.

"Don't call me that." The man said seriously.

"Whatever." The boy shrugged. "Anyway, have you found what I'm looking for yet?"

"Not yet." The man growled. "But I'm still looking."

"That's too bad." The boy grinned. "If you can't complete your end of the bargain, how do you expect me to keep mine?"

"I need this!" The man yelled. "I have to find him so I can go back home!"

"Well, that's too bad." The boy grinned.

The man clutch his fists in anger and charged forward in fury. He reached behind his back and pulled out a large broadsword wrapped in bandages. He jumped and swung down at the boy, but was suddenly knocked back when a column of earth suddenly slammed into his chest. The man tried to get back to his feet, but was suddenly held down when shackles made of rock wrapped around his wrists and ankles. The man growled as the boy kneeled down to his level with a superior expression.

"Did you really think that would work on me?" The boy grinned, releasing the rock shackles from his captive. "Or have you forgotten who you are dealing with?"

"Just because you're the Avatar doesn't mean you'll receive any special treatment from me." The man glared.

"Whatever." The boy yawned. "Just do your job, delivery boy."

"And where do you expect me to find you someone who can teach you how to control fire?" The man questioned.

"I'm sure you'll come up with something." The boy grinned. "You're a smart guy, Cloud."

* * *

**New powers and new dangers begin to emerge. Will Sephiroth return to seek his revenge? Who is this mysterious boy? And why do I keep asking these questions? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	65. Betrayal

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Chapter Sixty-Five: Betrayal

The scene opens at midday at the newly sea-bound Angel Island. Near the shores of the island, the Sonic Heroes and Team Virtex were gathered around three separate rock formations. Joined by the heroes was Eggman, Rai, Metal, Violet, and the Metal Squadron; Bokkun was currently locked in a closet. With the exception of Violet and the robots, everyone bared the same sad expression on their faces.

"You know, I always fought him over the years." Eggman said mournfully. "But I never wanted him dead."

"I don't think any of us would have expected this." Howl said solemnly.

"I'm so sad, mates." Marine informed.

"At least we know they're in a better place." Tikal stated.

The three rock formations were actually monuments dedicated to the fallen Golden Trio. Each of the moments was carved with the date of birth and death and had a special symbol carved in the center. Sonic's was a blue hedgehog head with the quills shaped like a buzz saw; Shadow's was a red mark that signified his alien heritage **(the symbol on his game)**, and Silver's was a silver shooting star. Everyone except Metal and Mecha walked up to the monuments and said their final respects. After a few short minutes, Kumori, Amy, and Blaze stood near their lover's stones.

"Silver, we went through so much together." Blaze said. "Iblis, Nazo, the Sol Emeralds. And every step of the way, our love always kept us together. I will never love anyone as I did you, Silver. Good bye."

"Shadow..." Kumori murmured. "At first, I hated you because you surpassed me. But the more I knew you, the more I came to understand you. You changed me, Shadow. And I thank you for that."

"Have anything to say, Amy?" Rector asked.

"No." Amy said lowly. "I refuse to do it. I won't say good bye!"

Before anyone could react, Amy stood up and zipped across the island, away from Sonic's grave. No one tried to stop her, knowing how rough things were for her. After Eggman had finished showing his respect for his former arch-enemy, the groups left back to their own paths. As the heroes passed by, Metal leaned near a tree, clearly waiting on something. The wait ended when Emerl fell behind Blue and Vector, who were too busy talking to notice him.

"Have you taken the necessary procedures?" Metal questioned.

"I have copied Knuckles' essence." Emerl informed. "Now I will be able to move the Master Emerald without waking Chaos or alerting the echidnas."

"Then you must do it tonight." Metal said seriously. "Remember what is at stake."

"I know." Emerl said, clutching his fist. "Once we hand over the Master Emerald, the Dark Rulers will return mom."

"We don't know that for sure." Metal said cautiously. "That's why we have an alternative. Understand, son?"

"I understand, father." Emerl nodded.

With their conversation ended, Metal performed Chaos Control to return to the Egg-Carrier III. Emerl remained rooted to the spot, but eventually return to the heroes to head back to the base. His mother's life was now in his hands.

* * *

The scene changes to nighttime at the Sonic Heroes base. After Amy's outburst at the funeral earlier, she resumed her usual mourning in her room. The only time she would open the door was to let Kumori into her room to sleep. But our attention focuses on the actions inside Cream and Blaze's room. While the two heroines rested peacefully, Emerl suddenly went active.

"Reboot mode complete." Emerl whispered. "Now engaging primary mission."

The traitorous robot stood up from his place and stealthily swept past the girls beds. He had almost made it to the door until a sudden squeak came into play. Realizing that he had stepped on one of Cheese's toys, Emerl sharply looked back at the two. They both shifted slightly at the noise, but otherwise remained asleep.

"Yes, Tails." Cream giggled in her sleep. "I would love to go to the moon with you."

"_I'm not even going ask._" Emerl sweat-dropped.

Emerl reached for the door and slowly snapped it shut behind him. Using the data he scanned from Espio, Emerl crawled along the ceiling; not taking any chances of getting caught. He found himself it Tails' workshop and was lucky that the kitsune wasn't there. Playing by memory, Emerl crawled across the hanger and found the secret wall to the storage room. He dropped down form the ceiling and stopped in front of the hand print scanner.

"Accessing biological scans." Emerl stated. Slowly, Emerl's hand begins to glow and fingerprints begin to form on the ends of his metallic fingers. "Miles Prower DNA accessed."

Emerl placed the false hand signature on the scanner and the secret door opened. Beyond the displays of past victories, the Master Emerald spread its glow along the walls. The container that once stored the Chaos and Sol Emeralds were empty. Knowing Tails wouldn't leave the room defenseless; Emerl activated his scanners and found inferred security beams. With the acrobatic skills of Blaze and Kumori, Emerl swept past the beams with ease and landed in front of the Master Emerald.

"This is way too easy." Emerl sniggered.

* * *

The scene alters to the inside of the Master Emerald, which served as a prison for the legendary overlord, Zeenint. The evil green hedgehog was sleep momentarily until he felt his prison move. He waved his hand and called forth a screen to show him what was happening outside. He could see Emerl attempting to steal the emerald which contained him.

"So, someone's trying to take me away." Zeenint smirked. "If it wasn't for Aero's seal, I would kill him. But still, this could be the perfect opportunity to push towards my escape."

With a menacingly look in his eyes, Zeenint held out his hands and release a massive green pulse.

* * *

Outside, Emerl used the strength he gained from Knuckles and Vector to lift the large emerald on his back. But a moment later, Emerl could see a large green pulse escaping from the crevices of the Master Emerald.

"That can't be good." Emerl commented.

And he was right. The moment the pulse passed by the rooms, Tikal instantly awoke from her sleep.

"The Master Emerald is in danger!" Tikal yelled.

"Not now." Wave moaned, putting her pillow over her head. "Can't it wait until morning?"

"Wave, the Master Emerald is in danger!" Tikal shouted seriously, throwing her own pillow at her roommate. "We need to wake everyone up."

"Ok, ok." Wave mumbled.

Wave slowly pulled herself out of bed and dragged herself to the side wall. Like Sonic and Shadow's room, there was a big red button on wall, which Tails and Wave installed themselves. She slammed her fist at the button, activating the alarm system. Back in the storage room, Emerl set the Master Emerald down as the alarm blared across the base.

"I knew that wasn't good." Emerl said.

"You got that right, buddy!" Knuckles' voice echoed.

A moment later, the red echidna slammed his namesakes into the secret door, knocking it off his hinges. At once, Knuckles burst in along with Tikal, Wave, Blue, Tails, Espio, and Amy; the others somehow managed to stay asleep.

"Give it up, pal!" Blue shouted. "There's no way you can..."

The Chaos clone trailed off from his sentence when he realized that the thief was actually little Emerl.

"Emerl, what are you doing?" Tails asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Emerl replied sarcastically. "I'm stealing the Master Emerald."

"But for what purpose?" Espio questioned. "I thought you were on our side."

"You guys are as gullible as Knucklehead over there." Emerl laughed; Knuckles started sharpening his namesakes. "You should have realized that I was working for Metal Sonic from the beginning. I'm not a traitor like Omega."

"But why work for someone like him?" Wave asked.

"Because he's my father." Emerl stated simply.

"Whoa, didn't see that coming." Tikal commented.

"I don't care who your father is." Knuckles growled. "You are not taking the Master Emerald as long as I'm alive!"

"Then we'll just have to fix that." Emerl said menacingly.

Irritated by Emerl's laidback attitude, Knuckles dived in head first with his fists held high. Knuckles put all his power into his fist and struck at Emerl's face. Unfortunately, the tiny robot caught it with one hand, not even putting any effort into it. Knuckles stared in confusion, but shrugged it off and thrust his other fist. Like the last one, Emerl put in minimal effort into grabbed the other attack, this time grabbing his wrist and twisting it around to his back. Knuckles cried out in pain as Emerl pushed his arm further back, forcing the echidna to his knees.

"Come on!" Emerl laughed. "Being Metal Sonic's son, you would have expected me to have copied all you powers."

"But did you copy the echidna's ultimate technique?" Knuckles questioned, wincing in pain.

"What ultimate technique?" Emerl asked confused.

Knuckles smirked at Emerl's lack of knowledge. A moment later, Knuckles sparked his namesakes, surrounding them in an aura of fire. Emerl stepped back in fright, accidentally allowing Knuckles to break free. The echidna warrior spun around and thrust his enflamed hands forward, releasing a column of flame. Acting fast, Emerl accessed Blue's data and reduced himself to a puddle of water. When Emerl was nowhere to be seen, Knuckles felt proud of himself.

"That's what you get when you mess with Knuckles the Echidna!" Knuckles boasted.

"Great, another Jet." Amy sighed depressingly.

Knuckles' eye twitched at the comment. But before he could even make a comeback, Emerl suddenly appeared behind the echidna and kicked him across the head. The sudden blow knocked Knuckles to the wall and unconscious.

"That oughta teach you not to mess with Emerl the Great!" Emerl shouted.

"Ok, that name sucks." Wave commented.

"Wow, tough crowd." Emerl muttered.

With Knuckles down, Wave and Tails stepped up to the plate. As Wave pulled out her wrench, Tails twirled his namesakes to get an aerial advantage. Emerl leaned back as the purple swallow swung her weapon near his head, barely able to avoid it in time. Before Emerl could counteract, Tails threw down a handful of explosive rings on the mech; Wave jumped away to avoid the blast. They two geniuses stood together across the cloud of smoke, expecting anything to happen.

"Think he's done yet?" Tails asked curiously.

"Do you really think he's going down that easily?" Wave replied sarcastically. "Seriously, you need to pay attention, shorty."

"I do pay attention!" Tails yelled furiously; his eyes slowly turning red. "And don't call me shorty!"

"Uh, hello! I'm in need of attention!"

As the cloud of smoke faded, Emerl was found to be unharmed by the attack. He apparently reached for the nearest artifact and it just happened to be a piece of Metal Overlord's armor. Emerl tossed the fragment aside and rushed forward with the speed of Sonic and Shadow. Wave swung randomly at the robot, but Emerl easily ducked under the attack and kicked his foot upwards at her face. Wave was tossed back into the air and left helpless, leaving Tails to face off against him alone. Tails tried to reach for another handful of explosive ring when he realized he didn't have anymore; Tails' panicked.

"Out of juice, huh?" Emerl chuckled. He slapped Tails in the chest, throwing him to the wall. "I was kinda hoping someone like you could be a good enough match."

"What do you think of me now?"

That voice sounded nothing like Tails; it was too dark and evil. When Emerl looked back, Tails' fur was bright orange and his eyes were blood-red. Emerl remembered this form from the battle against Black Doom, but never had a chance to copy it. When Emerl stepped backwards in fear, Tails' demonic instincts reacted and commanded him to attack. Emerl tried to analyze a way to counterattack, but Tails' uncontrolled chaos was blocking his scanners. By the time Emerl could refocus, Tails had grabbed him by the neck and slammed him in to the wall; a crater forming around him. Emerl kicked wildly in hopes of breaking free, but it proved useless against him.

"You know, maybe this wasn't a good idea." Emerl said nervously.

"You think?" Tails growled menacingly. "Now I'm gonna..."

Unfortunately, Tails had still not learned to control his demon persona. The half-demon's fur returned to its normal yellow, his eyes became normal, and all his energy exhausted out of his body. Tails slowly released Emerl before falling into a state of unconsciousness.

"Well, that was fun." Emerl commented embarrassingly.

"Please listen to me, Emerl." Tikal said, holding the robot by his shoulders. "If you take the Master Emerald away, terrible things will happen. You cannot possibly hope to understand the danger of something you can't control."

"I can control it!" Emerl glared, clutching Tikal's wrist tightly; the echidna priestess winced. "After I copied you and Knuckles essence, I can know manipulate the powers of the Master Emerald for my own!"

"Copying the trait can only get you so far." Tikal groaned under the pressure. "If one does not posses a heart that is pure, they are doomed to the consequences of their own misdeeds."

"I've had enough!" Emerl yelled furiously.

Emerl threw up Tikal's arms and took the opportunity to punch her in the stomach. Tikal was not a warrior like the rest of her tribe and was not used to the art of battle. The force of the attack knocked out the wind out of her, forcing her to her knees. After Blue had seen this, he roared furiously and shot his arms forward. Emerl barely caught sight of him and flipped away just in time. Emerl, accessing Espio's data, clung to the wall as Blue jumped protectively over his crush.

"You heartless monster!" Blue yelled.

"Ok, now those are the kind of comments that hurt." Emerl said. "Wow, that sounded familiar. (Guess who and win a prize!)

"Words aren't the only thing that hurt."

All of a sudden, a shuriken spun around Emerl's body with a wire wrapping around his body. Emerl looked over and saw Espio, who was also clinging to the wall, pulled at his end of the wire. The wire snapped and closed around Emerl's body, preventing him from moving. As the small robot struggled, Espio produced a series of hand signs and held the wire close to his teeth.

"This is trouble." Emerl commented.

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!!" Espio called out.

The ninja chameleon breathed and blew out a torrent of flames from his mouth down the wire. Emerl, using the combined strength of all the power heroes, escaped from the wire, but was unable to avoid the wave of fire. Not taking any chances, Espio drew out several kunai with pieces of paper attached to the ends. He threw them forward and watched as the exploded in the sphere of fires. Blue and Amy quickly grabbed their unconscious friends and dragged the outside the room as the ceiling fully collapsed in the storage room; Espio joined them a moment later.

"I think we're going to need a new ceiling." Amy stated.

"Be glad Shadow is dead." Blue laughed. "Because he would kill you if he saw this."

"At least I saved the Master Emerald." Espio replied seriously.

"Don't be too sure." Amy said warningly.

Surprisingly enough, Amy was right. Only a few minutes after the roof feel, Emerl emerged from the rubble with only minimal damages. His armor was scratched, his head plate was chipped, and his right eye was sparking. Other than that, he appeared fine.

"Oh, you are seriously going to pay for that." Emerl said evilly. Espio started to perform another series of hand signs, but Emerl beat him to the punch. "Not this time! Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!!"

Despite not having a mouth, Emerl spat out a gigantic sphere of flames. Espio was frozen in shock, leaving him unprotected. Acting fast, Blue tossed his friends aside and jumped on top of Espio, surrounding the chameleon's body in aquatic armor. The attack did save his life, but the force sent the duo flying backwards. Espio smacked his head into the wing of the tornado III, knocking him out, and Blue collapsed into a puddle of water. Now it was just Amy and Emerl.

"Now that I've won, I'll be going now." Emerl said nonchalantly.

"No way!" Amy shouted, holding her Piko-Piko Hammer. "You still have to get by me!"

"For what?" Emerl shrugged. "You're completely useless against me."

"That's not true!" Amy yelled.

"Face it; you're a shell of your former self." Emerl chuckled. "Ever since Sonic died, you've just been moping around all day and night. It's no wonder why that pitiful blue rat died."

"Don't call him that..." Amy muttered then yelled. "Don't you ever call him that!!"

"Oh crap!" Emerl exclaimed in fear.

In a rush of anger, Amy zipped up to Emerl and smashed her hammer across his face. The robot's head was nearly snapped off its hinges, but managed to retain his stability. Emerl was thrown against the Master Emerald, nearly pulled apart on contact. Emerl fell to his knees, but had no time to rest as Amy came swinging around again. Since the first hit and knocked out his right eyes, Emerl was left at a disadvantage. The small mech manage to avoid a good number of hits, but Amy tripped him by swinging at his feet. Once on the ground, Amy took another swing towards the robot's head. Emerl barely had time to roll away before becoming a permanent part of the floor. Emerl weakly pulled himself up to his feet across from a tired Amy.

"Had...enough." Amy panted.

"I can't let you win." Emerl groaned. "I need the Master Emerald."

"I don't understand it, Emerl!" Amy cried with tear in her eyes. "Sonic and I always treated you well, like you were our own son. Acted as like a mother to you and this is how you repay me?"

"I'm sorry, Amy." Emerl said sorrowful. "But I need this to save my own mother."

Amy looked sad and confused for a moment, torn between what to do. Emerl was weak and frail at the moment and was unable to move. In one swing, she could end this nightmare. But was it worth it. It took a moment before she finally came to a decision. Gripping her hammer tightly, Amy ran over and brought her hammer down over the wounded mech. The hammer slammed and crashed the metal apart, but it didn't belong to Emerl. Amy's hammer slammed into the wall, barely missing Emerl's head.

"I can't do it." Amy whimpered. "No matter how much I want to, I can't hurt you, Emerl."

"Too bad I can't say the same." Emerl said, slowly walking over to the Master Emerald. "I'm sorry, Amy."

Using power from the Master Emerald, Emerl performed Chaos Control to escape. The heroes were scattered across the base, either asleep or unconscious, and Amy remained in her place. Slowly, she dropped to her knees and cried mournfully.

* * *

The scene changes to a tall plain outside Westopolis. Metal Sonic was standing in the midst of the tall grass; his cape blowing in the wind. He waited for many hours, but his patience had finally paid off. A flash of green light erupted close to him and Emerl appeared alongside the Master Emerald. Upon seeing his son damaged, Metal kneeled down to him and held him comfortably.

"What happened, son?" Metal asked.

"One minute, I was sneaking my way through the base." Emerl explained. "The next, I find myself fighting for my life. It took a lot of effort, but I was able to successfully capture the Master Emerald."

"And just in time." The two mechs looked over and Mephiles appeared in a sphere of purple energy. "Your son's efforts have proved to be valuable. Now I will take the Master Emerald."

"We had a deal, Mephiles." Metal growled. "We hand over the Master Emerald and you return my wife."

"That's true, we did have a deal." Mephiles nodded. "And I am a demon of my word."

Mephiles held out his hand and summoned forth a sphere of purple energy like before. A moment later, Metal Amy dropped to the ground, slightly damaged. After the battle against Black Doom, Mephiles had kidnapped Metal Amy while Metal was still weak from battle. Seeing his mother back, Emerl staggered over and hugged his mother to death.

"Mom, I'm so glad your alive!" Emerl cried.

"It's ok, Emerl." Metal Amy whispered.

"Not to ruin this cherished moment, but I must be getting back." Mephiles said, walking over to the Master Emerald.

"Yeah, but your plan seems to have a flaw." Metal said sinisterly.

As Mephiles looked back, Metal suddenly loomed over him and stabbed his claw through the time demon's chest. While Mephiles was in shock, Metal released a surge of electrical energy through his body. Mephiles cried out in pain and fell limp in Metal's palm. Metal raised the body of the dark demon over his head as a sign of victory.

"It would seem that you have forgotten you were dealing with." Metal laughed.

"And so have you." Mephiles said, suddenly shooting up. "Have you forgotten? I'm immortal!"

Mephiles grasped Metal by his arm and snapped it apart, causing the powerful mech to fall back in pain. Metal Amy and Emerl ran over to his side in worry. Mephiles pulled out Metal's torn arm and tossed it to the ground in front of them. The evil time demon walked over to the Master Emerald and touched it delicately, feeling prideful of himself.

"Soon, all our plans will come together." Mephiles muttered.

"It's not over yet!" Emerl exclaimed. "Once my dad gets back up, he'll kick your butt!"

"I highly doubt that." Mephiles said amusingly. "For now, you have other things to worry about. In three days, the Winter Solstice will arrive and Lord Nazo will return."

"Nazo's coming back!" Metal yelled fearfully.

"You better start preparing." Mephiles laughed.

Before Metal could even stand, Mephiles had disappeared in a flash of green light. While the metallic family helped each other home, many questions went through their minds. But only one question always appeared: Was Nazo truly coming back?

* * *

The next day, Amy was seen at the shores of Angel Island, near the grave markers of the Golden Trio. She sat across from the gravestone of Sonic the Hedgehog, staring endlessly into the reaches of space. Suddenly, a noise cracked from behind and Amy turned sharply back. She was surprised to find that her brother, Rector Rose, was walking up to her. He stood next to her for a moment before sitting down. A moment of silence passed between them before Rector spoke up.

"Tails told me what happened yesterday." Rector said. "I'm sorry."

"Why do these things keep happening, Rector." "First our parents, then Sonic, and now Emerl. It's like the whole world is against me."

"I know it's hard to accept, but these things happen." Rector sighed. "All we can do is move on."

I miss him so much, brother." Amy sobbed into her brother's chest. "Please, make it stop."

"I can't do anything to make it hurt less." Rector said sadly. "All I know is, no matter what happens, Sonic still loves you."

"You think so?" Amy whispered, holding Amy close.

"He's probably waiting for you." Rector stated. "Waiting for the day when you two will be together forever."

"Then I'll wait, too." Amy muttered. "Thanks, Rector."

"No problem, Amy." Rector smiled.

Both brother and sister remained together, even as the sun went down, knowing Sonic was watching over them. As they watched the beautiful sunset, a gust of wind suddenly picked up. Amy shivered slightly and Rector held her closer to keep warm. But as the wind blew against the, Rector could not believe what he heard: a voice mixed with the gale.

"_Take care of her, Rector. I'm coming back._" Sonic said.

* * *

**Pain divides, but love brings others together. What will Mephiles do with the Master Emerald? Will the God of Darkness truly return? And is Sonic coming back? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	66. Raising Hell, Part 1

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Gemini, Corrupt © DarkspineSilver92  
Tomo, Rodrigo © Kiba Sniper  
Armand © SupergamerGreg79

Chapter Sixty-Six: Raising Hell, Part 1

The scene was opened at the tropical paradise of Angel Island. Using some highly advanced technology, Tails and Kumori managed to mimic the Master Emerald to allow Angel Island to float again. This was all done in preparation for the big day: Knuckles and Rouge's wedding! With Nazo gone, they thought it was time to settle down and start a new life, even if it was without the golden trio. All the heroes and their friends were invited: Team Virtex, G.U.N. Commander, Princess Elise, and even Big the Cat. Rector was making sure all the arrangements were set.

"No, not there!" Rector yelled. "There's where Knuckles and Rouge will be standing!"

"I've never seen you act this way before, Rector." Howl stated humorously.

"I consider Knuckles my greatest rival." Rector said. "I want to make sure that everything goes as planned."

"You've certainly changed." Howl said solemnly. "Ever since _he_ died."

"I promised not to make the same mistake again, Howl." Rector muttered.

Rector sighed sadly and went back to the arrangements. Howl felt bad for his best friend; Rector would never forgive himself for letting Sonic die. Howl shook his discerningly and walked off to his seat. Rector was telling off Big for sitting on the Commander when Marine suddenly ran up next to him.

"Hey, Rector, you won't believe who's here." Marine said happily.

"Huh?" Rector asked confused. "Who is it?"

Marine pointed in one direction and Rector followed her movement. As Rector turned, he suddenly found himself embraced by a blur of purple. When the blur pushed away, he found it to be none other than Armand the Tiger. It's been a while since the two had ever come in contact with each other. Last they heard from him, Armand was lost at the North Pole, for reasons unknown.

"Armand, I can't believe you made it." Rector smiled.

"Well, I couldn't miss a big day like this." Armand grinned. "I just hope you managed to save me and my friend some spots."

"Well, we didn't think you would make it." Rector stated, looking through his clipboard. "I might be able to get Team Chaotix to arrange more seats for you and your friend. By the way, where is he?"

"Hello, Rector." A calm voice said.

Rector's eyes shot wide at the familiar sound and shot around to find his cousin, Gemini Rose. The multiplying hedgehog had been missing for several weeks, last heard from in India. Armand found him near the borders of China and decided to bring him along for the ride, but Gemini had his doubts. The hedgehog smiled nervously at his red cousin, but Rector stared at him with hateful eyes. Marine shivered; she had never seen Rector this angry before.

"What are you doing here?" Rector asked venomously.

"Armand invited me." Gemini stated. "I thought that maybe..."

"Just leave, Gemini." Rector said coldly. "You don't belong here."

"I don't get it, Rector!" Gemini exclaimed. "Amy manages to trust me! Why can't you?!"

"Because she doesn't know what you did." Rector glared, turning his back to him. "But I never will."

Rector walked away, leaving a morally depressed Gemini behind. Meanwhile, Tails and Tikal were helping Knuckles prepare for his big day. His body was branded with white painted markings and a white sash around his waist. Tails had a similar appearance, only his markings were red. Tikal wore a patterned cloak with a large headdress, symbolizing her right as a priestess. Tails was just finishing marking the marking on Knuckles back, but Knuckles wouldn't stop shaking.

"Knuckles, stop moving." Tails pleaded. "I need to finish this."

"Sorry, Tail." Knuckles apologized. "I'm just so nervous."

"It's completely understandable." Tail nodded. "But why do you need these markings."

"This is the proper attire for a wedding according to Echidna tradition." Tikal explained. "The white marks represent his noble blood as a warrior. And the white sash symbolizes his unity to his love."

"And since I'm the best man, I get these marking, too?" Tails asked.

"Exactly." Knuckles nodded. "I was planning to ask Sonic to be the best man, but..." The three remained silent upon hearing the name. "Anyway, I just hope everything goes all right. I just get this feeling that something is going to go wrong."

"Nothing will go wrong." Tikal smiled. "You have to have faith."

Knuckles was still uncertain, but nodded happily at her response. After several minutes, the time had finally come. Knuckles and Tails stood near the emerald alter with Tikal presiding over the ceremony. Everyone took turned in their seats as Rouge walked down the row with Cream at her side. Rouge wore a formal dress similar to Tikal's normal wear, but without tiara. Knuckles could not believe how beautiful she looked. He had his doubt about the marriage at first, but slowly came to realize that he had made the right choice. As Rouge stood across from Knuckles she smirked at his ogled expression.

"See something you like." Rouge grinned, pushing her chest out.

"Uh...bleh...bwa..." Knuckles stammered; blood leaking from his nose.

"My friends and comrades!" Tikal preached. "We have come together for a most joyous of days! To bring this man and women together in eternal matrimony! If there is any who disagrees with the marriage, please proclaim your reason!"

"I think I might have a few."

All of a sudden, a hoard of black arrows swooped down from the alter, aimed for the loving couple. Acting fast, Jet jumped out of his seat and swatted the arrows away with his fans. The heroes jumped out of their seat to join their friends; the non-fighters and Big ran for shelter. As they looked up to the alter, they found the remaining members of the Dark Rulers seated at the top of the alter with the Master Emerald.

"You guys again!" Knuckles roared. "You picked a really bad time to tick me off!"

"Aw, quit your whining, mole." Tomo said coolly; a vein appeared on Knuckles forehead. "We're not gonna be here for much longer."

"What are you doing here in the first place?" Blaze questioned. "And how did you get the Master Emerald."

"We made a little deal with Emerl." Erazor smirked. "He gives us the Master Emerald and he gets his mother back."

"I didn't think Mephiles would be stupid enough to keep his end of the bargain." Dark Sonic growled.

"Don't talk that way about Mephiles!" Shira yelled.

"What do you guys want from us?" Espio glared.

"Oh nothing." Nack sniggered. "Just decided to bring a little hell to this ceremony."

"In more ways than one." Mephiles laughed.

Mephiles gathered an enormous amount of black chaos into his hands and formed his own version of the Chaos Lance. The Heroes dived away to avoid the shot and jumped back into the fight. Gemini was ready to join in, but a shadowed hand emerged out of nowhere and dragged him off into the forest. Armand saw this and decided to chase after his friend. As the rest of the heroes charged up the alter, Mephiles, Erazor, and Dark Sonic sat around the Master Emerald in meditative stances.

"This technique shall take a while." Mephiles informed. "Provide us the time we need to complete it."

"You got it, boss." Nack grinned.

"And Shira...be careful." Mephiles requested softly

Shira nodded and joined at Tomo's side as the two jumped from the top of the alter. Nack pulled out his guns and stared shooting at every heroes he could hit. Being the perfect marksman that he was, Nack was able to hit most of the heroes and send them tumbling back to the ground. The exception was Howl, Omega, Blue, and Wave. Howl pulled out his new sword he received from Master Nyrox to block the bullets, but then witnesses firsthand the abilities of his new weapon. As Howl swung his sword, the blade suddenly become a whip of light and snapped at one of Nack's gun, tossing it aside.

"Now that was cool." Blue commented.

"Master Nyrox's powers are truly astounding." Howl said in awe.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever!" Nack cackled, pulling out a rocket launcher "Let's see how you like this one!"

Nack pulls the trigger and releases on of the rockets stored inside. Omega took the front and opened one of his compartments to release another rocket. The two missiles exploded in the air, providing a thick cover of smoke for the heroes. Unfortunately, Nack brought along a pair of thermal goggles and located three of the heroes. Hold up, three?

"Where's the blue guy?" Nack questioned.

All of a sudden, Blue jumped out from the smoke and transformed his claw into a thick blade. He sliced the rocket launcher in half, giving a chance for Wave, who was behind him, to attack. Nack tried to reach for his gun, but Wave had already slammed her wrench to the side of his face, sending the rabid weasel flying into one of the columns. With Nack down, the four heroes made a run for the three meditating villains. Unfortunately, Dark Sonic saw this and released a pulse of dark energy from his body, tossing the four heroes down the step of the alter.

"I asked this before and I'll ask again." Dark Sonic said. "Why do we have that tiresome weasel with us?"

"He's good for a laugh." Erazor answered.

Back on the ground, Tomo was fending off her own problems. The traitorous ninja was faced Storm, Cream, Kumori, and Espio. Tomo ducked down as Cream threw Cheese for her head, but was momentarily unsuspecting of Storm, who was right behind her. As Storm swung his fist downward, Tomo pushed off the ground and flipped over to the side. While in midair, Tomo tossed a series of shuriken at the large albatross. Fortunately enough, Espio jumped in front of Storm and blocked the shuriken with his own enlarged shuriken.

"Thanks for the save, pal." Storm said gratefully.

"Not a problem." Espio smirked. "Now we have to deal with my sister. I should be able to defeat her with my genjustu."

"Don't think I'm gonna fall for the same trick twice, little brother." Tomo said confidently. "This time, I'll be sure to avert from looking into your eyes."

"Then this won't be a problem."

Out of nowhere, Kumori dropped and pounded her heel at the top of Tomo's head. The attack temporarily knocked out her senses, which allowed Cream and chance to dive and head-butt the chameleon. It took a lot of concentration, but Tomo managed to force herself into regaining her senses. The next thing she knew, she could see Kumori and Cream diving at her simultaneously. Acting fast, Tomo flipped over Kumori and grabbed Cream by her ears, tossing the rabbit at the Shadow prototype. When she landed, Storm jumped out of nowhere and wrapped her in a tight embrace. Thanks to her ninja training, Tomo was able to use Storm's weight against him and flip him over. When she looked back to her brother, he was performing a series of hand signs. With a confident demeanor, Tomo began performing the same hand signs.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!!" Tomo and Espio called out.

Both chameleon siblings took in a deep breathe and huffed out two massive ball of flames. Tomo's was slightly bigger than Espio's, but Tomo learned that size doesn't matter. As the two attacks pushed against one another, A sudden explosion erupted from the collision. The blast sent Espio flying into the trees and Tomo slammed into the structure of the alter.

"Damn, he's strong than last time." Tomo grinned. "Way to go, little brother."

Meanwhile, Shira was putting her skills to the test for the first time. She was faced against Rector, Marine, Raine, Tails, and Charmy. Fortunately, she had the advantage over Rector since he couldn't hit her; he was too chivalrous. Seriously, he needs to get over that!! Her only problem was Marine. Since their last battle, Marine took fighting lessons from Rector and was putting up a fair fight. Tails, Raine, and Charmy were watching the fight with popcorn and everything.

"That's it, Marine!" Rector cheered. "Just remember to keep your guard up!"

"Gotcha, mate." Marine saluted; Shira kicked her in the head. "Ow!!"

"I said keep your guard up!" Rector said irritatingly, slapping himself.

"I would suggest that you stay out of this." Shira glared.

Marine rubbed her head in pain and growled at the dark hedgehog female. The feisty raccoon jumped and threw her foot out for a flying kick. Unfortunately, Shira caught Marine by her ankle, spun around, and tossed the girl back at Rector. The Team Virtex leader caught her, but was unfortunate enough to fall for Shira's ploy. The dark female mimicked Marine's own attack and directed her foot to Rector's face. Both members were thrown back into the dense forest, unable to be seen.

"Well, that was easier than I thought." Shira chuckled.

All of a sudden, Raine flew around the dark female and tossed a black liquid in her eyes. Shira cried out in pain as the liquid began to burn her eyes and temporarily blind her. Shira tried wiping away the liquid, but shortly felt a stinging sensation at her backside. Shira jumped nearly thirty feet into the air before she came to a crash landing on the ground. She glared daggers at Charmy, who was laughing himself to tears from the spot where she once stood. Apparently, he used his stinger to stab at Shira's butt...again.

"That never gets old!" Charmy laughed.

"Charmy, stop laughing." Raine said sternly; Charmy obeyed.

"You filthy insect!" Shira roared furiously. "That's the last time you'll be doing that again."

"Oh, I don't think we have to worry about that." Tails said confidently.

Shira raised her brow to the half-demon fox until he pointed to her feet. She looked down and found herself in a field of golden rings that Tails had secretly set up. She looked back and watched as Tails pulled out the trigger for the explosives; she glared at him.

"I hate you." Shira said bluntly.

"You get used to it." Raine stated.

Tails pushed the trigger and unleashed a swarm of explosions around Shira. The dark female raised her arms in defense as the burning fires engulfed her body. Fortunately enough, the force of the blast tossed her away from the worst of it, leaving her with only minimal damage. The strong blast sent Shira to the top of the alter where she landed next to the meditative villains, unconscious.

"Shira!" Mephiles cried.

"Don't lose your focus!" Erazor yelled. "The sun is about to reach it's highest point!"

"It's time, my friends." Dark Sonic stated. "The Winter Solstice is finally upon us!"

Mephiles and Erazor nodded in agreement. Simultaneously, the trio of villains clapped their hands together and held their right hands to the Master Emerald, ejecting a might black aura into the massive gem. Suddenly, the black aura was thrusted from the top of the emerald in the form of a beam. The beam ripped through the sky and shot into the glare of the sun. Slowly, but surely, the sun was blacked out and the sky could be seen turning red from all around the world. The day of evil had arrived.

* * *

Meanwhile, Armand was still chasing after Gemini, who was still captured by the shadowed hand. After suffering through the thick forest, they soon found themselves in a clearing. Armand knew he had to save his friend soon before anything worse happened. Pressing a button on his watch, he injected a mysterious serum in his veins that made him move faster than ever. In one swift move, Armand called up his laser sword and severed the shadowed hand.

"Thanks for the save." Gemini said gratefully.

"Anytime." Armand replied. Armand helped Gemini back to his feet before they both noticed the sudden change in the atmosphere. "I'm no weather man or anything, but I'm sure the sky's not supposed to look like that."

"Something is wrong." Gemini said seriously. "I can feel great evil coming."

"But I have already arrived."

Armand and Gemini turned in the direction of the voice. Suddenly, a portal of darkness erupted from the other side of the plain and vanished with a newcomer in its place. It was Orion, the warrior of darkness and partner to Naga the Snake.

"Hey, he looks just like you." Armand stated obviously.

"Really, I never noticed." Gemini said sarcastically, looking back to Orion. "All right, who are you supposed to be?"

"My name is Orion." Orion introduced coolly. "I was hoping I would get a chance to meet you before this was all over."

"What do you want from this runt?" Armand joked; A vein appeared on Gemini's forehead.

"I need to end this pitiful battle between us for good." Orion explained. "Though my darkness is powerful, it is not enough as long as my light continues to live. At least, that's what Naga says."

"You're friends with Naga!" Gemini exclaimed.

"In a way." Orion smirked. "He is incompetent, but still very useful."

"Any friend of Naga's is an enemy of our." Armand said defensively. "Come on, Gemini. Let's show him what this tag-team can do."

"With pleasure." Gemini smirked.

"This should be interesting." Orion chuckled.

Both heroes charged at the mysterious villain with their plans already made. Armand began tinkering with his watch while Gemini took the opportunity to split him. But despite the challengers ahead, Orion maintained his cool. He tapped a ring on his belt and the battle began.

* * *

Back at the Master Emerald alter; the heroes were picking themselves up from their battles when they noticed the deathly colored skies above.

"What's that all about?" Jet asked.

"I don't know, but it can't be any good." Knuckles said seriously.

"Look, I think something's coming." Tikal pointed.

She was right in a way. As the heroes stared into the red skies, a small tear began to form. Soon, more tears began to form over the skies of Angel Island. But it wasn't just the island, but over the entire world. Just then, hundreds of figures from every shape and size began to drop from the tears. The heroes could not believe what they were witnessing. Every enemy and monster they had ever defeated was coming back from the dead. The subjects ranged from the Badnicks to the Black Arms to Shadow's prototype, the Biolizard. Even a few familiar faces dropped in front of our heroes.

"Did ya miss us?" Fenik sniggered

"Hey, did we kill him a while back?" Jet asked.

"Yeah, back before we knew Nazo." Blaze said.

"We served our creator, only to be sent to hell by you filthy abominations." Kensu glared. "But now our master has brought us salvation. We can once again wander the Earth and rid the pestilence of the light."

"Well, you picked the wrong day to do it." Rouge seethed. "You ruined my wedding."

"Aw, boohoo." Predingo taunted. "What are you going to do about it?"

That day, the villains learned one thing: never piss off Rouge the Bat. The enraged bat stretched her wings and dived at the group. Against the overwhelming odds, Rouge performed her signature Screw Kick and drilled her way through the hoard. Those who managed to dodge the attack swarmed after the bat, but were halted by a wave of fire. Blaze slipped past the flames and ignited her hand before stabbing them into the creature's chest. Unfortunately, one of her targets was made of stone and was invulnerable to fire. The stone beast grabbed her by her wrist and raised her into the air. As the beast reeled his fist back, Jet suddenly swooped in and sliced the beast's arm with his fans.

"I guess I owe you one." Blaze sighed in relief.

"Only _one_?" Jet emphasized.

"We'll talk about it later." Blaze deadpanned.

The two heroes ducked away before they were hit. Meanwhile, Knuckles and Vector were standing back-to-back, doing their best to defend themselves. Each time one of the enemies tried to jump them, the heroes would use their superior strength to knock them back. Realizing this, the villains conjoined together and jumped at the double powerhouses at the same time. It looked back for the two former partners, but they didn't see it that way. Knuckles bashed his namesakes together and performed his ancestor's mightiest technique: The Living Flames. Vector also created a torrent of flames from his jaws to join with Knuckles'. When the flames vanished, there was nothing but a circle of ash surrounding them.

"I think they got the _hots_ for us." Vector joked...badly.

"Do me a favor." Knuckles pleaded. "Don't talk."

That was the best advice he had ever given. Vector grumbled, but obediently followed Knuckles' orders. As for other echidna hero, Tikal was running away from a pack of hungry-looking villain. Unlike her friends, Tikal had not learned how to fight yet and was left vulnerable. Unfortunately, she tripped on a tree root and fell to the ground with a loud thud. When she sat up, she found herself surround by the menacingly horde.

"Please...leave me alone." Tikal pleaded softly.

"Don't worry, girly." Crio said lustfully. "This won't only hurt for a second."

"Back off, freak show!"

All of a sudden, Amy zipped in the middle of the circle with her signature Piko-Piko Hammer. Amy glanced at Tikal, who instantly realized what she was doing and ducked down. Amy swung her hammer in circles, forming a pink tornado made of rose petals. The villains laughed at the flower display, which turned out to be their biggest mistake. When the rose petals touched their skin, it felt as if a thousand hammers had crashed down on them. With the villains down and out, Amy stopped spinning and place her hammer on her shoulders; a victorious expression on her face.

"Never underestimate my Tornado Hammer." Amy said.

"Thank you, Amy." Tikal sighed. "For a minute there, I thought I was a goner."

"No problem, Tikal." Amy smiled.

After several minutes, the heroes had defeated most of the villains on the island and gathered together at the base of the alter.

"Is everyone all right?" Knuckles asked.

"Everyone's fine, but we still have a problem." Wave said.

"The Dark Rulers are using the Master Emerald to bring back the dead." Howl analyzed. "As long as they supply the Master Emerald with dark chaos, the rift will remain open we will never be able to defeat our adversaries."

"Then we'll just have to stop the flow." Tails nodded. "All we need to do is get to the Master Emerald."

"That may be a problem." A new voice echoed.

The heroes searched the area for the source of the voice, but found nothing. Suddenly, the heroes were forced to the ground by a heavy force. It overpowered many of the, but Amy and the Babylon Rogues thought it felt familiar.

"It's gravity." Amy grunted. "Jet, did you activate your Ark?"

"No way." Jet strained. "Not even my Ark is this powerful."

"Then where is it coming from?" Storm asked.

"Allow us to answer that." Another voice echoed.

The heroes used whatever strength they had to move their heads and look up to the stone columns around the alter. Suddenly, two portals of darkness appeared, each transporting a different creature. One was a black hedgehog and the other was a black crow. Corrupt and Rodrigo had arrived.

"Who are you?" Kumori questioned seriously.

"I am Corrupt Darkness." Corrupt introduced. "Former leader of my personal organization, DARKNESS, and the newest member of the Dark Rulers. I must say, it's an honor to meet you all."

"Blah, blah, you talk too much." Rodrigo complained. "The name's Rodrigo and I'm also a new member to this Dark Rulers thing. But I'm sure my fellow Babylonians know more about me."

"Yeah, I heard of you." Jet glared. "I read about you in King Rakis' journal. You helped in the creation of the Arks of the Cosmos. You're also the back-stabbing, two-faced, lying pigeon that led the coup against Rakis and banished him!"

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Jet." Rodrigo sniggered.

"What are you doing here?" Blue sneered.

"We just thought we should introduce you to someone." Corrupt said coolly. "I think you might recognize him."

Corrupt and Rodrigo turned their attention towards the tear in the sky. Suddenly, a lone figure began to descend upon the land below and floated between the two dark warlords. Corrupt and Rodrigo kneeled and bowed their heads to the figure, allowing the heroes to move again. As they stood up, the heroes looked up the column to see who they were bowing to. Each and every eye opened wide in shock as their greatest fear had become reality.

"Looks like someone forgot to invite me to the party." Nazo grinned.

**The darkest of days is upon us. Will the heroes be able to stop the undead army? Can they pull themselves to defeat Nazo and his newest minions? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	67. Raising Hell, Part 2

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Gemini, Corrupt © DarkspineSilver92  
Tomo, Rodrigo © Kiba Sniper  
Armand © SupergamerGreg79

Chapter Sixty-Seven: Raising Hell, Part 2

What was supposed to be the happiest day of the heroes lives turned into a living nightmare. The Dark Rulers corrupted the essence of the Master Emerald to unlock a gateway to Hell. To make matters worse, two new villains, Corrupt and Rodrigo, stood near the temple alter and bowed to their resurrected master, Nazo. The heroes stared in utter silence, not wanting to believe he was alive. Witnessing their master's return, the Dark Rulers pulled themselves together and bowed before Nazo.

"Lord Nazo." Mephiles said respectfully. "We are grateful that you have returned to us in our time of need."

"It would seem that you have remained loyal to me, despite my premature death." Nazo grinned.

"Our loyalty has never been wavered." Tomo answered weakly, stilling recovering from her battle. "We would follow your words to the end of time, my lord."

"Suck up." Nack coughed.

"You could learn from her, Nack." Nazo stated, moving in closer for a better look at his warriors. Nack suffered minimal damage, but was still weak. Tomo's body was burned severely and Shira was knocked unconscious. Nazo may have been evil, but he cared for his servants. "Tomo, Nack, take Shira and return to the castle. We'll take care of the rest."

"As you wish, Lord Nazo." Tomo nodded.

Gathering her fallen comrades together, Tomo performed a series of hand signs and vanished into thin air. Back with the heroes, the effects of shock began wearing off and a wave of fear rushed over them. None of them had ever stood a chance against Nazo without Sonic, Shadow, or Silver. And without the Chaos or Sol Emeralds, things didn't seem to well for them.

"So, anyone got any bright idea?" Rouge asked.

"Running." Storm answered. "Running sounds good right now."

"Heart of a lion, he has." Blue said sarcastically.

"Running is not an option." Knuckles said seriously. "We have no choice but to stand and fight."

"But we don't stand a chance against them." Raine said worried. "Even Rector could beat them. And he's the strongest guy in the world.

"Must be a small world." Knuckles muttered and said. "Even if we run away, we can't escape as long as he has the Master Emerald. We have to protect the world against him." He looked down sadly. "That's what Sonic would wanted."

"Ah, such sentiment."

Knuckles turned at the sound and jumped in surprise when Nazo stood near him. Counteracting his fear, Knuckles thrusted his namesake at the God of Darkness. Unfortunately, Knuckles didn't even have time to hit before he was thrown backward to his friends. When the echidna looked back, he found Corrupt standing between them and his master; the red eye on his glove glowed momentarily.

"That could have gone over better." Wave commented.

"What'd ya except, girly?" Rodrigo grinned wickedly. "We're the greatest, we're bad men, and we're pretty!" Rodrigo cackled at his own joke; the other Rulers groaned. As Rodrigo's eyes wandered over the Heroes, he found himself staring at Wave's necklace and turned serious. "Where did you get that?"

"Now's not the time, Crow." Corrupt said solemnly, turning to the God of Darkness. "Lord Nazo, what is it that you wish for us to do?"

"Allow me to elaborate for these worms before they are destroyed." Nazo said darkly. He walked past his minions and spoke to the Heroes. "You're all probably wondering what is happening at the moment."

"Yeah, pretty much." Kumori nodded.

"You see, during our battles over the Chaos Emeralds, I realized something: I would never be able to obtain them all." Nazo explained. "Every time I came close, either you or the irksome Eggman would always find a way to foil plans. Just when I was about to give up, an idea suddenly came to me. If the Emeralds and I are one, then they would die along with me."

"What are you getting at?" Blaze questioned suspiciously.

Nazo raised his arms to the sky and released a sphere of multicolored energies that separated into seven fragments. The fragments floated back to earth and surrounded Nazo, each of them taking the form of the seven colored gems: The Chaos Emeralds. Blue, being a clone of Chaos, realized the dark potential in the Emeralds and jumped forward to stop him. Blue sent his claw forward on the attack, but Erazor jumped in and cut him off...literally. The evil djinn slashed and pushed the clone back with a large fireball to the chest. Thankfully, Tikal caught him, but the clone melted in embarrassment a moment later.

"We really need to work on that." Tikal said.

"Shall we proceed in eliminating these pests, master?" Dark Sonic asked hopefully.

"Yes and make it quick." Nazo instructed. "I wish to control the world by nightfall."

"Let the fun begin." Rodrigo cackled.

"This is bad." Howl commented.

The villains and heroes jumped at once and the greatest battle in history had begun. Mephiles the Dark went up against the members of Team Virtex. If there was anyone he wanted revenge on, it was Raine for blowing him up last time. Mephiles held out his claw and called up his own version of the Chaos Spear. Unfortunately, Raine was a healer, not a fight. With no way to defend herself, Raine used her wings as a shield. Thankfully, a large green orb shot out of nowhere and obliterated the barrage of black arrows. Raine took a peek and looked over to Marine; her hand glowing brightly.

"Wow, you're getting better at that, Marine." Raine complimented.

"Thanks, mate." Marine smiled. "I've been practicing."

"I remember you." Mephiles said to Marine. "You were in Blaze's memories. You're her best friend."

"That's right, mate." Marine nodded.

"Then that will make it all the more enjoyable." Mephiles said wickedly.

Mephiles kicked off the ground and held his claw out towards the rascally raccoon. Marine tried to use her magic again, but she was still in experienced and failed. As Mephiles came close, a whip of light suddenly wrapped around his wrist and halted his attack. Mephiles looked back and saw Howl holding him back with his new weapon. Taking advantage of Mephiles' distraction, Rector jumped in front and nailed the time demon to the face. Mephiles was tossed across the field and splattered across the walls of alter. Just as he started to reform, Raine brushed his body with red powder and ignited it with a match. Upon contact with the flame, the powder exploded, damaging Mephiles beyond imagination. The dark demon tried to reform, but he only had enough strength to reproduce his head.

"Damn you, parasites." Mephiles cursed.

"Hey, watch it!" Rector shouted; he and Howl covered Marine and Raine's ears. "There are children present."

"Whatcha say, mate?!" Marine screamed.

Not far from them, Erazor faced off against Team Knuckles and Tikal. Since Tikal could not fight, she stood back to act as a healer for the team. Because of Erazor's fire-based abilities, she regularly healed the burns off her friends with echidna magic. Knuckles bashed his namesakes together and summoned his own flames. Erazor studied the Echidna Clan's fire technique from Babylon Garden and knew what to expect from it. Erazor unsheathed his razor blade and buried it into the ground, tossing a pile of dirt to fly into Knuckles eyes. Without knowing where to aim, Knuckles shot his fire randomly in the air. Unfortunately, A few of the flames nearly burned one of Tails' namesakes.

"Hey, watch it!" Tails yelled, dipping his tail into the lake. "I only have two of those!"

"I can't see!" Knuckles shouted.

"Knuckles, look out!" Cream cried.

All of a sudden, Erazor swooped down from behind and sliced Knuckles across his back. Tikal tried to run to his aid, but Erazor blocked her way. As the evil djinn raised her weapon over her head, he suddenly felt the full force of an unknown attack to his face. Erazor slid across the ground and glared. The attack returned to Cream and turned out to be only Cheese. Just from the attack, Erazor knew Cream was a long distance fighter. Erazor grinned and turned his body to a cloud of smoke. Cream and Cheese looked scared and confused before Erazor reappeared behind them. Before they could realize where he was, Erazor brought down his weapon. Unexpectedly, Tails jumped in front of the attack and allowed it to cut into his shoulder. Upon feeling the blood splatter across her cheek, Cream turned and gasped.

"Tails." Cream said horridly.

"You fool." Erazor sniggered. "What reason would you have for surrendering your life?"

"I swear, if you hurt her..." Tails said lowly; his eyes becoming red and slitted. "I'll kill you!"

In an unexpected twist, Tails slammed his fist into Erazor's chest and sent him flying. Meanwhile, Dark Sonic was off fighting his own way. The dark counterpart found himself pitted against the Team Chaotix and the bride-to-be. It was easy too distinguish Rouge's pissed off mood. Rouge was still mad about her wedding being ruined and took out her frustrations on the dark hedgehog. Rouge spread wings and jumped up to unleash a barrage of fatal kicks. Unfortunately, being Sonic's dark half, Dark Sonic avoided them without much effort. After relentlessly attacking, Rouge finally slipped up. As the bat's foot nicked his cheek, Dark Sonic grabbed her by the ankle and threw her aside. Luckily, Espio caught her before she could hit a nearby tree.

"Are you all right?" Espio asked, setting Rouge down.

"I won't until we get rid of our wedding crashers." Rouge glared. "They spoiled the happiest day of my life."

"Ah, get over it." Dark Sonic sighed.

"Bonzai!" Charmy screamed.

Dark Sonic looked up and saw the young bee dive-bombing him with his stinger held out. All Dark Sonic really needed to do was reach up and grab the bee's stinger. He pulled the youngling and held him upside-down in front of him.

"If you're going to surprise someone, do it quietly." Dark Sonic advised.

"Great work, Charmy." Vector said. "Leave the rest to us."

Without even realizing it, Charmy's distraction allowed Vector to sneak up behind Dark Sonic. Before the dark counterpart could react, Vector wrapped in strong arms around the demon to contain him. This allowed a chance for Charmy to escape, but not before stinging Dark Sonic in his forehead. With the trap set, Espio jumped forward and began performing a series of familiar hand signs. The chameleon took in a deep breath and blew out a massive fireball. Seeing this, Vector let go and jumped out of the way a few seconds before the attack could hit. Dark Sonic wasn't so lucky. His body was consumed in the flames and the gathered group watched him burn.

"Yay! We did it!" Charmy cheered.

"Don't count on it." Espio said doubtfully.

As the flames began to die down, they could see a single figure still standing. Dark Sonic had survived the attack, but his left arm and the left side of his face and chest were red and glinting, clearly meaning he suffered major burns.

"You'll pay for that." Dark Sonic said menacingly.

* * *

The scene shifts back to the clearing on the other side of Angel Island, where Gemini and Armand were facing their newest enemy: Orion. They put up a good fight against the mysterious newcomers, but it proved to be useless. Orion stood in the center of the clearing, but his appearance was different. His fur was grey and had metallic spikes coming from his back and arms before returning to his normal black shade.

"How sad." Orion said arrogantly. "You fools really thought you could overpower me."

Gemini and Armand had received the worse of the battle. Armand was lying in a pile of fragmented rocks that looked ripped from the ground. Armand's clothing was shredded, but that wasn't the worst of it. The tiger's torso was covered completely in blood as if his chest had erupted. Gemini was lying in a circle of black grass with several burn markings covering his body. Though very weak, Gemini forced himself back to his feet.

"What the hell are you?" Gemini questioned; blood was leaking from his mouth. "How can you use all those powers?"

"You could have done the same if you stood by Naga." Orion said darkly. "But if that was the case, then I might never have existed."

"What are you talking about?" Gemini questioned.

"Haven't you wondered how we look the same?" Orion questioned. "Or how I was able to perform those Dark Techniques? It's because the darkness reigns over you. It binds you forever into its depths."

"You're wrong." Gemini growled. "I gave up that darkness. I won't allow myself to relive those horrible memories."

"But it was those memories that allowed me to exist." Orion smirked. "You relied too much on the darkness in your past. You lived in darkness your whole life. It was that darkness that allowed you to kill you parents and your aunt. Do you really think you can throw all that away? Let's face the truth: You were born and you will die as a Soldier of the Darkness."

"Shut up!" Gemini roared; a lone tear leaked from his eyes. "I've changed! I'm no longer that cold-hearted boy I once was!"

"Is that true or are you just fooling yourself?" Orion said confidently. "Face it, you hide in the darkness of your past because the light of the present is too great for you to handle."

"You don't know me!" Gemini shouted.

"But I do know you, Gemini." Orion smirked. "Because, I am you. I am the darkness of your heart."

"That was a nice chat, but..." Suddenly, a blue laser sword cut through Orion's chest. The dark hedgehog weakly looked over his shoulder and found a very pissed off Armand. "...You're dead."

Orion's eyes rolled backward and his head dangled forward. Armand recalled his laser sword back to his watch and allowed Orion's dead body to fall. Clutching his chest, Armand weakly, and painfully, moved over to his friend. Thanks to a special serum in his watch, Armand was able to heal himself and Gemini.

"Are you all right?" Armand asked.

"I've been better." Gemini groaned. "At least that's over.

"Or is it?"

The duo's eyes shot wide and stared at Orion's seemingly dead body. The dark hedgehog pushed himself up, proving himself to be very much alive. Once on his feet, Orion stared down at the hole in his chest. Tapping the green ring on his belt, Orion's fur turned green and watched the wound beginning to heal itself. When the wound was fully closed, Orion returned to his usual dark shade.

"No way." Armand gasped in shock. "But I killed you."

"That is the reason why I cannot be defeat." Orion sniggered. "I am immortal."

* * *

Back with the heroes, Rodrigo and Corrupt were finally having their chances to fight. Corrupt was left to fight Team Rose and Blue since Rodrigo wanted the Babylon Rogues for himself. Kumori was the first to stand up against the new Ruler and jumped into the air for a spinning kick. Corrupt lifted his forearm and blocked the attack with minimal effort. Realizing how strong he was, Kumori rebounded off the ground and aimed for his legs. Unfortunately, Corrupt jumped up and avoid the attack completely. Taking the opportunity, Corrupt held his hand to the prototype and released a dark shockwave from his palm. The force sent Kumori sliding backwards to her friends as Corrupt landed.

"Kumori, are you ok?" Amy asked her friend.

"I can't move my legs." Kumori groaned painfully. "Something in his attack must have knocked out the nerves in my legs."

"And that was only a small fraction of what I can do." Corrupt boasted.

"Then I should have no problem against you." Blue said confidently. "I don't have nerves."

"We shall assist you." Blaze said as she and Amy stood beside him.

"Such cooperation and understanding." Corrupt smirked. "Why couldn't my organization be like that?"

As Corrupt pondered these questions, Blue took the opportunity to transform into a puddle and vanishing. Following his lead, Amy and Blaze charged forward in revenge for their comrade. Corrupt was finally brought back to reality and ducked just in time to avoid an attack from Amy's Piko-Piko Hammer to his head. Corrupt, the eye on his glove glowing, reached out for Amy's face. But before he could connect, Blaze dived forward in a tornado of flames. Corrupt recalled his hand and jumped backwards away from the females. But as he landed, a blur of blue suddenly covered his body. He soon found it to be Blue when the clone's head appeared on his shoulder.

"Looks like your in a little bind." Blue joked.

"And you seem to be under the impression that this can stop me." Corrupt said calmly.

"Well, that's what my friends think." Blue said, referring to Amy and Blaze, who were attacking.

"You fools underestimate me." Corrupt smirked.

As Blaze and Amy attacked with the best of their abilities, Corrupt was suddenly surrounded in a black aura. All of a sudden, a surge of black lightning erupted from Corrupts body, throwing all his opponents away from him. Amy and Blaze were hit in their chests and tossed against the forest trees. Blue, who received the worst of the attack, was tossed across the ground and splattered everywhere.

"Could this get any worse." Amy groaned.

"It already has." Corrupt said, looming over the females.

Over with Rodrigo, the tyrant crow was faced off with Omega and the Babylon Rogues. Rodrigo didn't care much for the others; he only wanted Jet dead. While Rodrigo took a step closer, a series of gunshots formed a line below his feet. Rodrigo looked forward and saw Omega with his gatling gun replacing his usual claw.

"You shall not trespass any further!" Omega stated. "Leave now and you shall be spared!"

"Oh, I'm so scared." Rodrigo said dramatically.

"Ya should be." Storm grunted. "There's no way we're letting you take over."

"I don't really care about domination as much." Rodrigo waved. "Thought I do keep my options open, I just want to kill the green kid."

"You'll have to go through us before you can get to Jet." Wave sneered, pulling out her wrench.

"Fine by me." Rodrigo grinned wickedly.

Omega held out his gatling gun and released his bullets, this time aimed for Rodrigo's head. But Rodrigo was surprisingly calm and held his hands out to the bullets. All of a sudden, the bullets stopped in midair. It was then the heroes realized his control over gravity. With a wave of his hand, Rodrigo sent the bullets back to their owner. Omega's armor was strong and that's the only thing that kept him online after being hit. With their friend down, Storm and Wave charged head forward to protect their leader. Suddenly, The dark crow formed a miniature black hole in front of his and stepped through, shouting...

"GRAVITY DIVE!!"

The moment Rodrigo reached the other side, he shot faster than the speed of sound. All Babylonians had experiences with the powers of Gravity Dive and knew what terrible powers it contained. Rodrigo burst past Storm and Wave, sending the two crashing into the trees close by. Jet, angered by the Crow's actions, decided to fight back. If there was anything that could match the powers of the Ark, it was Shahra's ring. Jet held out the ring and called out...

"TIME BREAK!!"

Suddenly, time stopped in its tracks. Because Rodrigo used Gravity Dive, he managed to move at normal speed. As the dark crow stared in confusion, Jet ran up to him and waved his fans towards his head. Unfortunately, Rodrigo still had control of gravity in the frozen world. His eyes glew a sinister green, catching the hawk in midair. Jet could feel his arms and legs being bond together by Rodrigo's gravity effect; time returned to normal. With Jet bound by his trap, Rodrigo took his pleasurable time walking up to Jet and wrapping his hand around the hawk's throat.

"Thousands of times I've dreamed of this moment." Rodrigo said cruelly. "But I always imagined it would be Rakis."

"Heh, you must have been a loser if Rakis could kill you." Jet sniggered.

"Shut up!" Rodrigo yelled, jabbing Jet in the gut. "He cheated! If he didn't have that accursed Babylon Treasure, he would have died at my hand."

"Babylon Treasure?" Jet repeated, thinking back at the name. "Wait, ya mean the crystal box?"

"If that's what you call it." Rodrigo sneered. "The power to summon the strength of the Babylon Gods by thought. That's the power I always dreamed of obtaining. I hoped to take it when Rakis was banished, but I failed."

"So...anyone can use the crystal box just by thinking?" Jet asked curiously.

"Only the royal family." Rodrigo replied suspiciously. "Why?"

Jet could only grin at Rodrigo's expression. He closed his eyes and focused onto a single point, which happened to reside in his feathers all of a sudden, the Babylonian crystal box began to levitate over Jet's head and covered him in a silver glow. Rodrigo covered his eyes from the light and looked back when it died down. Jet's entire body became a crystal color and his head feathers stood up, transforming him into Shining Jet. Taking in Rodrigo's surprised expression, Jet reeled back his fist and nailed the crow in the beak. The dark bird flew past Corrupt, who held Blaze by her ponytail, and slammed into the walls of the Master Emerald alter.

"Now who talks too much." Corrupt sniggered.

"Blaze, you have to fight back!" Jet yelled.

"I can't." Blaze replied weakly. "He's too strong."

"Blaze, think about it." Jet said. "If the Chaos Emeralds are back, shouldn't the Sol Emeralds be back too."

"Wait, you're right." Blaze realized. "Jet, your brilliant." Blaze looked surprised. "Wow, never thought I'd say that."

Blaze brought her hand together in prayer, much to the confusion of Corrupt. Suddenly, Blaze's keystone began to react and covered Blaze in a red aura, which burned Corrupt on contact. While the dark hedgehog healed his wounded hand, seven colored lights dropped from the sky and surrounded the cat, taking the form of the Sol Emeralds. Blaze gathered the energies of the Emeralds and exploded in an array of light. Blaze's fur became bright pink, her jacket and the tip of her tail become red, her cuffs and shoes were engulfed in pink flames, and the ring the held her ponytail was gone, allowing her hair fall down. She had become Burning Blaze

"This can't be good." Corrupt commented.

"You got that right." Blaze smirked.

Blaze floated off the ground and dived at the dark hedgehog. In an act of defense, Corrupt held out his hand and released a wave of black lightning. Blaze smirked at his futile attempt as the lighting bounced off the aura that surrounded her. Blaze clapped her hands together and released a stream of volcanic flames from her mouth. Corrupt raised his hands in defense, but the force of the attack sent him flying back to the alter along with Rodrigo. Jet joined at Blaze's side and gave her a high five, which she gratefully returned. A moment later, the rest of the heroes joined in.

"All right!" Storm cheered. "Way to go, boss!"

"With two super forms at our side, there's no way we can lose." Rector nodded.

"Don't your hopes up yet." Blaze said seriously. "We still have one last problem to deal with."

Rodrigo and Corrupt crawled back to there feet, but regretted it a moment later. Nazo stood in floated of the two ancient villains, a look of displeasure on his face.

"My lord." Corrupt said fearfully.

"Hey, boss." Rodrigo said nervously. "What's happening?"

"I guess it's true what they say." Nazo glared. "If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." Nazo sneered at the villains; causing them to flinch, and turned to the heroes. "You must think you stand a chance, don't you?"

"We have two Super Forms and you're by yourself." Kumori pointed. "You can't win."

"Oh no?" Nazo grinned wicked. "If you remember correctly, I have only used two of my three forms: standard and Hell Form." He pointed to the Chaos Emeralds that surrounded him. "But with all seven Chaos Emeralds, I will be able to unlock my ultimate power!"

"Ooh, we forgot about that." Jet winced.

"Witness the true powers of Chaos!!" Nazo yelled insanely.

Nazo held out his hands and began to absorb all the negative energies of the Chaos Emeralds. Blaze and Jet tried to stop him, but the force of the energies send them skyrocketing backwards. Nazo's evil laughter echoed across the island as the world began to shake and the skies turned deathly black. Nazo had entered his Hell form and bypassed in completely to enter his final transformation. When the change was complete, Nazo exploded in a mighty blast of power that tossed aside everything within five miles. In the aftermath of the transformation, the heroes began to pull themselves together.

"Is everyone all right." Knuckles asked worried.

"I think so." Rouge replied painfully.

"Everyone's present and accounted for." Amy informed. "So, what happened to Nazo?"

"I think we're about to find out." Blaze stated.

A massive cloud of dust arose from the spot where Nazo once stood. They couldn't see anything, but everyone on the island could feel a cold wave flowing through them. Finally, the dust began to part and the heroes could see Nazo at his full power. His fur was red and the iris of his eyes were yellow like his Hell Form, but his quills reached down his back and were scattered in every direction possible. **(Just think of a red super saiyan 3)**

"At last, my final transformation is complete." Nazo said wickedly, turning his attention to the heroes. "For the last moments of your lives, you may refer to me as Perfect Nazo."

"Eh, he doesn't look so tough." Jet said confidently. "I bet we can take him."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I agree with you." Blaze smirked.

"That's right." Nazo grinned. "Head to your doom."

Jet and Blaze shot off the ground and charged at super speeds towards the transformed hedgehog. Both super formed heroes reeled back their fists and sent them rocketing into Nazo's face. Their attacks connected perfectly, but something was wrong. This was guessed for two reason: 1) Nazo didn't even flinch, 2) He was smiling. Nazo held his open palms to the heroes and unleashed a powerful blast of red chaos to blow them away. The heroes crashed and formed craters near their friends. The heroes looked into the craters to Jet and Blaze back in their normal forms, barely alive.

"Well, that's it." Blue said hopelessly. "We're done for."

"We can't give up now." Tikal said. "There must be a way to stop him."

"But there isn't." Nazo said as he landed a few feet away. "Don't you get it: I am invincible. I was the one who created the Chaos Emerald, which in turn, created the other items of power." He started walking closer. "And once I drain the Master Emerald of it's power, I'll be the true Ultimate Life-Form. Something Shadow failed to understand."

"Shadow was better than you'll ever be." Kumori glared

"Really?" Nazo sniggered, holding out his open palm. "You can ask him that when you seem him."

A large amount of red chaos began to form at in Nazo's palm and held it in the direction of the heroes. They would try to run, but realized Nazo would chase them down in the end. This battle was over.

"_I wish I could see Sonic one last time_." Amy thought.

"SONIC WIND!!"

"CHAOS LANCE!!"

"PSYCHIC SCREW!!"

Nazo turned at the sound of these voices and found three attacks head for him. Nazo pushed away the blast of psychic energy and blocked the Chaos Lance with his forearm, but the last attack him in the chest. The God of Darkness was painfully thrown back and crashed into the remains of the Master Emerald alter, causing it to collapse. Unfortunately, Nazo exploded from the rubble in a fit of rage; not a single scratch on him. Nazo looked over in the direction of the attack and gasped at what he saw over the hill. Sonic, Shadow, and Silver were back.

"How did you get back?" Nazo questioned.

"We just took the same way you did." Silver grinned, pointing to the rift in the sky.

"But that rift is only connected to Hell"! Nazo exclaimed.

"We made a deal with the Council of Death." Shadow informed. "We can return to life in exchange for ending your plan."

"Hah! You think those feeble attacks are enough to stop me?" Nazo chuckled.

"No, but this might." Sonic grinned.

Nazo stared at the trio in confusion as the slowly crouched into fighting positions. All of a sudden, Nazo could feel a strong clutter of positive energies radiating from their bodies. A moment later, the trio exploded in a warm ray of light. The light's effects seemed to have healing powers for the heroes as all their wounds began to vanish. Nazo stared into the light and could not believe what he had witnesses. Sonic fur turned a golden-yellow shade, Shadow turned a cream-lemon shade, and Silver's became a metallic-gold. **(Just following how they are described)**

"They've mastered the Super Forms." Nazo muttered frightfully. "They can transform without the Chaos Emeralds."

"It's over, Nazo!" Sonic proclaimed. "Today, you're going down!"

* * *

**The Golden Trio returns and the ultimate battle begins! Will the newly resurrected heroes put an end to Nazo's scheme? Or will the God of Darkness finally win? Find out on next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	68. Raising Hell, Part 3

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Gemini, Corrupt © DarkspineSilver92  
Rodrigo © Kiba Sniper  
Armand © SupergamerGreg79

Chapter Sixty-Eight: Raising Hell, Part 3

Things looked grim for our heroes as Nazo had unlocked his Perfect Form and over powered our heroes. Just when it looked to be over Sonic, Shadow, and Silver returned from the grave. To add to the success, the golden trio achieved the power of the Super Forms without the use of the Chaos Emeralds. Nazo was clearly shaken by the trio's miraculous resurrection.

"_This can't be happening._" Nazo seethed mentally. "_This was not part of my plan._"

"It's over, Nazo." Sonic proclaimed. "Today, you're going down."

"That's a laugh." Nazo chuckled. "Just because you three have mastered the Super Form, you think you can defeat me." Nazo pointed to the weakened Jet and Blaze. "Look there. I have defeated two Super Forms without as much a scratch. What makes you think you can defeat me by yourselves?"

"But we're not fight by ourselves." Shadow stated.

"Is that so?" Nazo grinned. The God of Darkness held out his hands and a hundred stems of darkness from his palms. The Dark Rulers were amazingly healed, and the stems of darkness called back over a hundred defeated monsters. "Tell me, what army do you have to defeat mine?"

"That one." Silver smirked; point up to the rift.

Nazo followed Silver's hand back to the rift and gasped in horror. Instead of evil demons breaking through, several heroes from previous times were returning. But what Nazo found most disturbing was the return of his former allies: The Guardians.

"_It's been a long time...my love_." Lightra said in a language only they understood.

"_Lightra, Heat, Obsiden, and Aero_." Nazo replied in the same language. "_I thought I let you behind several millennia ago_."

"_Yeah, that really hurt, man_." Heat whined.

"_You've turned your back on us just as you did Master Zeenint."_ Obsiden glared.

"_Don't tell you still worship that pathetic rat?_" Nazo sniggered. "_If any god exists, it's me_."

"_You allowed the power to corrupt you and take hold of your senses_." Aero said, drawing his white chrome blade. "_This is the day we set your soul free, brother_."

"_Are you challenging me?_" Nazo questioned.

"_Not us; them._" Aero said, referring to the golden trio. "_Think you can handle it, brother?_"

"_I accept, brother._" Nazo smirked.

"Any idea what they just said?" Silver asked confused.

"Not a clue." Shadow replied.

While the heroes were off guard, Nazo suddenly zipped in front of them and swung his leg downwards. Luckily, the trio had also mastered Chaos Control in the Super Forms and vanished before the attack hit. Nazo was deeply amazed at how far the three had come over the short period of time. Shadow dropped the Chaos Control and appeared at Nazo's left side. The Ultimate Life-Form jabbed his knee to the red god, but Nazo blocked it with his forearm. Amazingly, Nazo's skin burned on contact and dropped his guard. This gave Shadow the perfect chance to flip backwards in mid-air and slammed his foot into Nazo's chin. The God of Darkness staggered back and growled through his bleeding lip.

"So, you've learned to use the positive energies to act as a shield." Nazo glared. "But it won't do you much good. All I need to do is increase the darkness in my body to counteract your light."

"Yeah, while you're at it, you might want to watch out for the wall." Shadow grinned.

"What wall?" Nazo questioned.

All of a sudden, a brick wall flew out of nowhere and slammed Nazo to the ground. The God of Darkness burst through the wall with ease and stared over to Silver.

"That wall." Silver smirked.

"You miserable..." Nazo seethed.

"Coming through!!" Sonic screamed.

Nazo looked to the sky and witnesses a golden meteor aimed for him. Nazo flipped backwards and barely avoid the attack before it slammed into the ground, creating a massive crater. Before Nazo even touched the ground, Sonic zoomed out of the crater and threw a lethal kick to Nazo's head. Unfortunately, the God of Darkness blocked it with one arm and grabbed his ankle with the other hand. Nazo spun Sonic around in circles and released him towards Silver. Fortunately, Silver used his psychic powers to stop his ancestor before he got to close.

"Thanks for the save, Silv."

"Don't call me Silv!" Silver exclaimed

"I must admit, even in my Perfect Form, you three still prove to be a worthy match." Nazo complimented.

"And this is only the beginning." Shadow stated.

Meanwhile, the rest of the heroes were left to deal with Nazo's army. Having faced most of them in the past, the Sonic heroes proved themselves well against the monsters. At the same time, The Guardians were experiencing their first battle in several millennia. Heat, the impatient one, jabbed out his fist to release a torrent of flames that incinerated everything. Lightra, the nimble one, effortlessly dodged her opponents and released a thousand volts of electricity in their bodies. Obsiden, the ruthless one, rammed into every creature he could find, nearly running over Cream. And, of course, Aero the strategic one, would wait for opponents to make their moves and think of a hundred strategies to overcome them.

"_Its times like these I miss fighting Zeenint!_" Aero proclaimed, cutting the head off a Black Warrior.

"_And I thought you were against violence_." Obsiden said humorously.

"_I am, but to a certain point_." Aero shrugged; dodging.

"_Hypocrite!_" Heat called out.

"_Brother, there is no need for – Heat! Look out!_" Lightra screamed.

In Heat's momentary distraction, one of Nazo old creations jumped overhead and swung its claws down on the flaming hero. Suddenly, a hole of green energy appeared from the Master Emerald and a flash of blue zoomed by. A moment later, the monster was cut clean down the middle. When Heat looked over to his savior, he was happy to be reacquainted with his old friend.

"_Chaos!_" Heat exclaimed happily.

"_I'm right here, Heat._" Chaos said, rubbing his aching head.

"_Please, excuse my brother, Chaos._" Lightra said calmly. "_He's just overexcited to see you_."

"_What exactly have you been up to all these millennia?_" Obsiden questioned.

"_Well, after a certain pair betrayed us..._" Chaos began; everyone glared at Obsiden. "_I've been keeping Zeenint's prison safe so that no one can break him free._" Chaos turned sadly to his old friends. "_But, I could never forget you._"

"_We can't stay here forever, Chaos_." Aero stated. "_But until we leave, will you fight with us?_"

"_It would be my pleasure._" Chaos nodded.

The six long time friends pulled together and stood their ground against the invaders. Meanwhile, Dark Sonic was progressing against the heroes. As the dark counterpart kicked Tails, who was in his half-demon state, away, Amy came from behind and swung her hammer. Unfortunately, Dark Sonic knew she was coming and held out his hand to stop it in midair. With some added pressure, Dark Sonic pushed Amy back into the forest. The pink hedgehog tried to stand, but Dark Sonic suddenly stood over her and grasped her by the throat.

"I was hoping to get my vengeance from my counterpart." Dark Sonic said maliciously. "But killing his girlfriend will do."

"As much as I hate that hedgehog, I can't let you do that." A familiar voice said.

Two energy beams shot from the sky towards Dark Sonic, but the evil hedgehog easily bended them away. He released Amy and both fighters looked up from where the attack came from. Eggman floated near them in his trusty Egg-Mobile.

"Eggman?" Amy questioned surprisingly.

"Hello, Amy." Eggman greeted. "Lovely day, isn't it?"

"What the hell are you doing here, Eggman?" Dark Sonic glared.

"Oh, I was just in the neighborhood and decided to drop by." Eggman said playfully. "I got word that Nazo was back. I was thinking; why not pay an old evil friend a visit?"

"Then that will be your final mistake." Dark Sonic stated, holding out his palm. "Get ready to die, Eggman."

"Not gonna happen!" A young voice yelled.

Dark Sonic barely had time to look over before Rai dived in and kicked him across the face. Dark Sonic tumbled across the ground before pushing himself up with his hands. At that moment, Rai swung his leg around to trip him up, but the evil counterpart had already flipped over him. Realizing his position, Rai swung his fist backwards, but Dark Sonic caught him. The evil counterpart twisted Rai's arm around until it was stretched behind his back. Just as Dark Sonic reeled back his fist for the finishing blow, Eggman pulled a wrench from out of nowhere and knocked it against Dark Sonic's head. The sudden attack left Dark Sonic dazed and accidentally allowed Rai to escape. Taking his opportunity, Rai swung around and cupped his fists together.

"KA-ME-HA-ME-HA!!" Rai roared.

Rai thrusted his fists forward and unleashed a stream of blue energy from his palm. Being so close, Dark Sonic had no time to avoid it and was sent rocketing over the edge of Angel Island and into the waters below.

"Good work, son." Eggman said proudly.

"Couldn't have done it without ya, dad." Rai grinned.

At this time, Erazor was also joining in the fight. The dark djinn had defeated Team Virtex with great effort, but the mercenaries just wouldn't stay down. Hoping to end it all, Erazor unsheathed his blade and dived for Raine. Just as he swung his weapon down, a blur of green jumped in front and cut him off. It was only a moment later when Erazor realized the Metal Jet had appeared and was holding him back with his own fans.

"If there's anything more I hate than the real Jet the Hawk, it's a copy." Erazor growled.

"Get it line, pal." Metal Jet said. "You've got us to deal with."

"What do you mean 'us'?" Erazor questioned.

"Us!" Another voice yelled.

Erazor glanced over his shoulder, only to receive a spiked fist to the face that sent him thrashing across the ground. Erazor sat up and found that Metal Knuckles had joined his comrade. The mechanical echidna jumped and dived at the djinn with his fist held forward, but razor flipped backwards into the air. Metal Jet kicked off his allies back and boosted into the air towards Erazor. The mechanical hawk swatted his own fans at Erazor, but the djinn miraculously flipped in midair and kicked Metal Jet over the head. Just when he thought he won, a series of wires covered Erazor's body and bound him. Erazor looked down to the ground, where he found Metal Espio performing a series of hand signs.

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!" Metal Espio called out.

The wires were suddenly engulfed by a raging flame and Erazor was caught in the middle.

"Well, that takes care of that." Metal Jet said.

"Don't you think that was a little too easy?" Metal Espio asked suspiciously.

"No, why?" Metal Knuckles asked.

"That's why." Metal Espio pointed.

The other mechs followed his movements and noticed a cloud of black smoke emerging from the ground. A moment later, the smoke took the form of Erazor Djinn, who remained unharmed by the pyro technique. The djinn growled furiously and swung his razor blade at the trio. But before his weapon could connect, Mecha Shadow suddenly appeared out of nowhere and blocked it with his forearm.

"You filthy mechanical rat!" Erazor yelled. "I'm gonna turn you into scrape metal!"

"Unfortunately, you won't be doing much of anything." Mecha stated. Mecha held out his right claw and formed a black version of Metal Sonic's signature technique. "METAL SURGE!!"

Mecha Shadow plunged his claw into razor's chest, releasing all his energy. Sensing his own defeat, Erazor had no choice, but to retreat. Meanwhile, Mephiles was finishing up some matters with another group of heroes. His main target was Blaze, Silver's lover. With her dead, Mephiles would be one step closer to achieving his revenge. He maintained a firm grasp of Blaze's head, forcing an attempting to crush it. Blaze cried out as the pain became more intense.

"That's right, scream for mercy." Mephiles said darkly. "Let Silver know of your agony."

"I...won't...give you...the satisfactory." Blaze grunted painfully.

"Then I will have to force it out of you." Mephiles said pleasurably.

"I never thought I would be helping a hero, but...put her down!" A feminine voice called.

Unintentionally, Mephiles released Blaze at the sound of the voice and looked over. The dark being could see Metal Amy, just as she was ready to pull out her hammer. Not wanting to take chances, Mephiles held out his claw and unleashed a wave of Chaos Spears. Metal Amy was not ready for the attack and was an easy target. But suddenly, a barrier formed around her, protecting her from the attack. Mephiles appeared confused until Emerl jumped into play.

"So, mother and child together again." Mephiles said coldly. "It will be better to know that you will die together."

"This isn't over, Mephiles." Metal Amy growled. "Don't think I haven't forgotten what you did."

"I wouldn't expect you to." Mephiles said. "But you're child was willing to go so far to rescue his dearly beloved mother."

"You'll pay for that." Emerl said angrily. "My dad will take care of you."

"And where might I find the coward?" Mephiles questioned.

"Why don't you try looking up?" Metal Amy pointed.

Mephiles followed her directions and stared into the sky, much to his regret. Somehow, Metal Sonic had gathered enough power to become Metal Overlord. The mechanical dragon roared with fury when he vertical eyes caught sight of the dark traveler. Mephiles tried to make a run for it, but Metal Overlord swooped down upon him and grasped him with one of his claws. Metal Overlord held Mephiles close to his face with an angered expression.

"This will teach you to mess with my family." Metal roared.

The Metal Overlord reeled back his claw and tossed Mephiles straight into the air. With his arms free, Mephiles tried to conjure an orb for escape. But Metal couldn't give him that luxury. Metal held his mouth out wide and released a power red beam from his throat. Mephiles, who was too late with the spell, was obliterated into a thousand pieces and scattered all over the ocean below.

"He'll be back." Metal growled.

* * *

The scene shifts to the battle between Orion, Armand, and Gemini. Realizing that Orion couldn't die, Gemini and Armand were left with little options. Armand called up his laser sword from his watch and Gemini separated himself into two parts. Orion could only laugh at their pathetic attempts to fight him.

"You fools don't know when to quit." Orion cackled.

"We wouldn't be doing much if we did." Gemini sneered.

"You would stay alive." Orion stated.

"He has a good point." Armand said thoughtfully.

"Armand!" Gemini yelled.

"Sorry, sorry." Armand apologized.

"If you're done with your little play time, I'd really love to kill you this century." Orion said.

"Just try it." Gemini challenged.

"With pleasure." Orion smirked.

Orion reached down to his belt and tapped a light-blue ring; his fur turned to the same color. Both heroes, not counting the clones, stood ready for anything he might do. Unfortunately, they had not expected him run past them at the speed of sound. Orion's newest form apparently gave him speed that rivaled Sonic. Orion powered down his current form and tapped a yellow ring with his fur taking the same shade. The multi-formed hedgehog spun around and let loose a surge of electricity from his palms. Fortunately, Armand pressed a button on his watch and formed a barrier around them.

"You had that the whole time?" Gemini #2 asked.

"Yeah, why?" Armand asked.

"Oh, I don't know." Gemini #1 said sarcastically. "Maybe it could have not gotten us killed!"

"If you believe this will stop me, you're sadly mistaken." Orion said.

The duo turned in confusion and looked back to the evil shifter. Orion switched his fur color from yellow to brown when they weren't looking. The two seemed to remember this form, seeing as their eyes were wide with fear. Orion stamped his foot on the ground and spikes of earth began to form under our hero's feet. Reacting fast, the duo jumped into the air and away from the evil beast. Unfortunately, Gemini switched his brown ring for a pink one and his eyes glew a brilliant white. Suddenly, a powerful aura appeared around our heroes and the duo was thrusted into the ground. Orion had apparently gained psychic powers and was preventing them from moving a muscle. Gemini forced himself to look up from his position, only to see Orion standing over him.

"I always knew it would end this way." Orion smirked. "You, groveling at my feet. It reminds me of the time you killed your parents."

"Hey, leave him alone." Armand grunted.

"Don't worry; you'll have your chance to join him." Orion said, returning his attention to Gemini. "Let's end this war forever."

Orion tapped a grey ring on his belt, but surprisingly did not release his psychic powers. It was then the heroes realized Orion could wield two powers at once. Orion's arm turned grey and a large metal spike appeared from his forearm, pointed towards Gemini's throat. Orion raised his arm and brought it down in one swift motion. His blade was an inch away from Gemini's throat when he suddenly stopped. Realizing he wasn't dead, Gemini stared at his counterpart, who seemed to be staring into the sky. All of a sudden, Armand and Gemini could move again and Orion turned his back to them.

"Naga always knows how to ruin a moment." Orion muttered. "I'll deal with you later, Gemini."

And with that, Orion vanished in a portal of darkness.

"What was that all about?" Armand questioned.

* * *

Back with the rest of the heroes, the Babylon Rogues were still trying to fend off Rodrigo. The ruthless crow just wouldn't give up until he killed Jet. Rodrigo was careless with his powers of gravity and would sometimes kill his own allies if they got in the way. Finally, the wicked crow faced the emerald hawk while the rest of the warriors surrounded them. With Rodrigo using Gravity Dive and Jet using Time Break, no one could see that battle that was going on between them. But when the battle ended, Rodrigo was holding a wounded Jet by the scruff of his neck.

"Well, that was partially entertaining." Rodrigo said disappointed. "Though I was hoping for something better."

"Just because you beat me doesn't mean the Babylon Rogues are finished." Jet panted. "When I'm gone, Wave will take my place and hunt you down, freak."

"You actually trust them?" Rodrigo questioned.

"Yeah, because they're not just my team." Jet said. "They're my friends."

"Well spoken, boy." An elder voice said.

Rodrigo's shot up and a low growl emitted from his throat. He slowly turned back with Jet still in his hand and found three figures standing across from him; one he knew very well. Though his vision was blurry, Jet could clearly distinguish the figures. It was his ancestors, the previous leaders of the Babylon Rogues: Stolen, Aeriala, and King Rakis.

"It's about time you showed up." Jet joked weakly.

"We would have gotten here soon if _someone_ learned to read a map." Stolen emphasized.

"It's your fault for not asking for directions!" Aeriala exclaimed.

"Let me guess, this is your entourage, Rakis?" Rodrigo grinned.

"These are my descendents, Rodrigo." Rakis said solemnly. "It is fortunate for all of us that your descendents have not turned to the darkness as you did."

"You were a fool, Rakis." Rodrigo growled. "If you had let me continue my experiments, we could have discovered the secrets of those shadows. Think of what we could have learned from the heart stealing beasts."

"You have gone too far in the past, Rodrigo." Rakis stated. "You must be put to rest."

"Not until I have my revenge!" Rodrigo yelled madly.

Rodrigo pulled back his claw and swiped it towards Jet's face. He was suddenly stopped when Stolen, the fastest rogue in history, grabbed him by his arm. Rodrigo released Jet and swiped away with his other claw, but Aeriala slide under Rodrigo's feet and kicked his hand away in a single motion. Rodrigo's eyes glew and tried to aim a concentrated beam of gravity. Fortunately, Stolen zipped out of the way and Aeriala nimbly flipped over his head. Rakis walked in front of the beam and, amazingly, caught it in his palm. In a stunning feat of power, Rakis pushed the beam back and sent Rodrigo soaring over the wide forest.

"Damn you, Rakis!" Rodrigo screamed before vanishing.

"I pity you, old friend." Rakis said solemnly.

Back with Corrupt, the devilish hedgehog was forming a more strategize way of fighting. Corrupt learned to wait out his opponents and counteract their attacks at a moments notice. The dark hedgehog worked his way past most of the fighters and cornered Tikal at the remains of the Master Emerald Alter.

"St- stay back, please." Tikal pleaded fearfully.

"I'm sorry to say this, but you have to die." Corrupt stated.

"But why?" Tikal asked.

"Once we kill Knuckles, you'll be the last of your clan." Corrupt explained. "And with your clan's demise, only Lord Nazo will be able to control the powers of the Master Emerald." He held out his palm. "Farewell, child."

"I must suggest that you stand away from my daughter." A sagely voice said.

Corrupt jumped back just as several warrior echidnas with white markings covering their bodies. Tikal instantly recognized them as the Elite Warriors from her tribe. She could hear footsteps coming from the side and looked on in surprise when her father, Pachacamac, held out his hand to her.

Are you all right, Tikal?" Pachacamac asked kindly.

"Father, what are you doing here?" Tikal asked, taking her father's hand.

"I made a mistake, Tikal." Pachacamac said sadly. "And now I am here to correct it." He looked over his daughter and noticed she was still wearing her ceremonial clothing. "You look so beautiful; just like your mother." He directed his attention to the warriors. " Elites, Nine Dragon Flames!"

The warriors grunted in acknowledgement and slammed their fists together, activating the Echidna Living Flame. The warriors moved in a simulations motion, ending the stance by thrusting their fists outward. The flames they shot out bound together and split into nine different fragments that surrounded Corrupt. For the moment, no one moved or spoke. The next moment, the flames turned black and vanished, revealing a slightly burned Corrupt.

"I must admit, that was impressive." Corrupt smirked. "But it's nothing compared to my power."

"Then you shall face against me." Pachacamac said, moving past his warriors.

"You're joking, right?" Corrupt laughed. "What could a pathetic..."

Corrupt never had the chance to finish his speech. His attention was drawn to Pachacamac's eyes, which had orange with six small slits surrounding one big slit. Next thing he knew, Corrupt's chest burst open and the dark hedgehog fell to the ground in agony. Corrupt was frozen with fear. Never before had he ever experienced such a frightening situation. Not wanting to be around much longer, Corrupt vanished in a portal of darkness.

"What happened, father." Tikal asked.

"Nothing, dear." Pachacamac winced. "It's nothing."

The battle finally shifts over to Perfect Nazo and the Golden Trio. Despite Nazo's new power, Sonic and the others seemed to be on an even playing field with him. But this only worked if they were fighting together. Nazo tried countless times to separate them in order to gain the advantage. But every time he tried, the others would be there to make the save. After two hours of fighting, Nazo healed any in juried he obtained while the Golden Trio were heavy beaten and bruised.

"Had enough yet?" Nazo grinned.

"Nah, we're just getting warmed up." Sonic panted.

"We are?" Silver asked; Shadow slapped him over the head. "I mean, of course we are."

"If that's true, then why not face me now?" Nazo challenged.

"There's no way we can beat him." Sonic whispered to his friends."

"But you just said we were getting warmed up." Silver said.

"Please, tell me you're not turning into Knuckles." Shadow grimaced. "Anyway, we can't be Nazo in our current state."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Silver questioned.

"I think it's time for a little tag-team, if you know what I mean." Shadow smirked.

"Having a nice time?" Nazo questioned.

The Golden Trio shot apart when they realized Nazo was standing between them. The God of Darkness held out his hands and released a burst of red chaos at Sonic and Shadow. With two of his threats out of the way, Nazo made a direct shot to Silver. The psychic hedgehog formed a protective barrier around himself when Nazo shot a multitude of punches at him. Thanks to his Super Form, Silver was able to keep the barrier for quite a while. But the hedgehog's mind was stressed to its limit at keeping the barrier for so long. Finally, one of Nazo's punches broke through and shattered the barrier to pieces. The hit shot at Silver's stomach, causing the hero to bend over. With an opportunity in sight, Nazo clasped his fists together and slammed them over Silver's head. The psychic hedgehog was shot towards the ground and forced a crater on impact. Silver tried to stand, but Nazo stomped over Silver's stomach; he cried out in pain.

"Oh, I love the sound of pained screams." Nazo said pleasantly.

"Don't think you'll have time to listen anymore." Silver grinned, despite the pain.

"And for what reason would that be?" Nazo questioned.

"FU-SION-HA!!"

Just the sound of the words was enough to instill fear in Nazo's heart. Nazo jumped off and soared back into the sky, where he witnessed Sonic and Shadow's fusion dance. Nazo tried to stop it by throwing a sphere of chaos in their direction, but he was too late. By the time the attack reached, it was obliterated by Super Shadic. The fusion hedgehog resembled much of his old form, but his fur was now a golden yellow like Sonic's.

"Hey, Nazo." Shadic greeted nonchalantly. "Ya missed me."

"Like a root canal." Nazo growled.

"Aw, that hurts, Nazo." Shadic laughed. "And I thought we were friends."

"Well, 'friend' why don't you do me a favor – DIE!!" Nazo screamed.

Nazo held out both hands and unleashed an insane barrage of over a million Chaos Spears. Many of them scattered and swerved and others conjoined together to surround the hedgehog. But despite being surrounded by certain death, Shadic merely grinned at the attack. For some odd reason, Shadic started spinning in place as the powers of Nazo's attack started to overcome him. Nazo smiled at himself, feeling superior over Shadic. But that was quickly ended when Shadic burst of the large dust cloud created and slammed his fist into Nazo's gut. The God of Darkness gasped momentarily before swinging his hand back. Nazo missed, but wouldn't give up so easily. Shadic kept dodging Nazo's attack as if to toy him, all while secretly planting a multicolored ball of light in Nazo's back. Dodging Nazo soon got bored with running and kneed Nazo in the chin, forcing the God of Darkness backwards.

"Is that really all you can do?" Nazo said. "Cheap shots and running."

"Eh, I thought it would last." Shadic shrugged. "Anyway, it's over now."

"What are you talking about."

"Just this." Shadic smirked. Shadic held out his open palm to Nazo, which confused the evil overlord. Memories of the previous battle entered Nazo's mind and the evil overlord stared in horror as Shadic closed his fist. "CHAOS BREAKER!!"

All of a sudden, a brilliant light exploded in Nazo's back, forcing the God of Darkness out of the sky. Nazo was left as a crumpled heap on the ground, trying desperately to pull himself up. When he realized what had happened, he found himself surrounded by every hero imaginable. Shadic floated down to join his friend Silver. Knowing he couldn't win, Nazo vanished in a portal of Darkness.

"I'll get you, rats." Nazo proclaimed

With the threat of Project: Hellzone over, the heroes could finally relax. The echidna warriors worked tirelessly to rebuild the Master Emerald alter and Obsiden reframed all the craters in the ground. Sonic and Shadow split apart and joined Silver as their girlfriends jumped on them. They were soon joined by the rest of the group, who were equally happy.

"Ok, ok, give us room to breath." Silver laughed. "We just got back from the dead."

"It's just so hard to believe you're back." Blaze whisper; she slapped Silver's across the face. "Don't ever do that again!"

"So, what happens now?" Knuckles asked.

"Once the Master Emerald is cleansed, everything will go back to the way it was before." Shadow explained. "Everyone that escaped from hell will be sent back to where they belong. This time, the Council of Death will make sure to keep a better watch."

"Does that mean you'll have to go back?" Kumori asked worried.

"Nah." Sonic shook. "The Council said we can stay until it's our time."

"How can we know this is real?" Amy asked.

"Like this." Sonic grinned.

In an unexpected move, Sonic grabbed Amy close and pulled her into a deep and loving kiss. Rector wanted so very much to pummel him into submission, but knew that this was one of those times where he couldn't interfere. Shadow and Silver soon followed Sonic's example and returned their affections to their loved ones. Unfortunately, because of the incident, Knuckles and Rogue had to postpone their wedding. They hope they would be married before they had kids. As all heroes were entranced in this happy moment, they remained unaware of a secret watcher above them. The watcher wore a black suit and thick as skin with black and silver boots, black gloves, and silver rings around her wrist. She also wore large black helmet with plated quills, purple visors, and a neon purple symbol. Of everyone there, she seemed more interested in Knuckles.

"Enjoy your peace while you can." The unknown said. "Soon, you will feel the wrath of the Nocturne Clan."

* * *

The scene shifts to the dimension of the Dark Rulers Castle. After an antagonizing loss, the group of villains was forced into medical recovery. Nazo, against his better judgment, allowed Rodrigo and Corrupt to remain members of the Dark Rulers until the lived out their purpose. Currently, the God of Darkness was making his way down to the lower levels of the castle, ignoring the pain in his back. Nazo stopped at the bottom of the stair and reached a black door with a large red gem in the center. Nazo had forbidden anyone from entering this room and no one was dumb enough to go against his wishes.

"I request an audience." Nazo said.

"An audience is requested as well." Another voice replied.

The black door opened wide, allowing Nazo to enter before it closed behind him. The room was practically empty with the exception of two white thrones. Nazo took his seat in the closest one and stared at the one opposite of him, which was also occupied. His face could be seen, but the man wore a long, black coat with white flames at the hood, cuffs, and flaps. He also wore black gloves, shoes, and possessed a black ring on his left hand.

"So, I see you failed again, father." The man spoke.

"I really didn't expect to win." Nazo grinned. "This was all merely a distraction to unlock my Perfect Form. But the hedgehog's appearance did come as a surprise. It looks like I'll be working overtime."

"Why did you summon me, father?" The man asked.

"While we heal, we need someone to collect the emeralds." Nazo explained. "We need them in order to complete our master plan."

"You're in luck." The Man said. "One of our targets has escaped into the past. My two best agents are already tracking her down."

* * *

The scene changes to a far-off forest somewhere in a distant country. In the center of this forest, a single girl was running like her life was at stake. She was a sixteen year-old yellow mongoose with shoulder length purple hair. She wore a black tank top, brown shorts, and green boots and gloves. She was panting heavily as she paced until she felt a looming presence. she looked back and saw a man wearing the same coat as Nazo's son jumping over head. The man swung a large weapon around and the mongoose girl ducked away before she was hit. She landed safely, watchins the trees around the man collapsed.

"You're pretty quick, kid." The man said.

"I have a name, you know." The girl glared.

"Well, excuse my manners, Mina." The man said.

The man turned his face around to give Mina a better look at his. He was Twenty-nine year old blue shark with a yellow scar over his left eye. The weapon he was carrying was a large cleaving sword covered in red shark scales and shark teeth planted over the edge of the blade. He also wore a green ring on his right hand.

"Hey, Terro, you gonna help or what?!" The shark called.

"You are too impatient, Kuanga." Terro replied. "You need to think things out more."

"Aw, what do you know?" Kuanga grunted.

The man known as Terro stepped out of the shadows and revealed himself. He was a twenty year-old red bat with a white crescent birthmark on his forehead; it resembled much of Knuckles' birth mark. He wore the same uniform as his partner, but without the gloves and boots, revealing his claws and red fur. He also possed a white ring on his right hand. Terro calmly walked over to his partner.

"Think about it." Terro said. "She dragged us all the way into the heart of the forest. Don't you think she might have a reason for that?"

"Are you saying this is a trap?" Kuanga asked.

"Exactly!" Mina shouted proudly.

The young mongoose stood down her opponents in an unusual fighting stance. Suddenly, green neon markings began to appear around her face and body; her violet eyes became green. Suddenly, the ground began to shake, catching the two slightly off guard. A moment later, several tree roots began to climb their way out of the ground and over a hundred vines sprang to life like snakes. All these plants drew together and surrounded Mina protectively.

"So, this Spark has power over the plant life." Kuanga said thoughtfully.

"That would explain why she brought us here." Terro said coolly.

"Hey, are you gonna talk or fight?" Mina smirked.

"Care to join me, Terro?" Kuanga said confidently.

"As you wish, old friend." Terro replied.

As Mina and Kuanga prepared themselves for battle, Terro shut his eyes in concentration. When he snapped his eyes open again, they had transformed; similar to Pachacamac's eyes. The iris of his eyes was orange and his pupil had become a long slit with six slits surrounding it. The war was far from over.

* * *

**The battle of the ages finally comes to a close. Will these new events affact the tide of the war? Who is the mysterious assailant? And who are these two newcomers? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**And don't miss my upcoming story, Hybird's Wrath!**

**Please, read and review.**


	69. Pein and Suffering, Part 1

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

I would like to thank the following people for making these chapters possible: Aika08, DarkspineSilver92, Kiba Sniper, SupergamerGreg79, Emily Blue Paw, and the Brawler.

Naruto © Kishimoto  
Tomo © Kiba Sniper

Note: Takes place during Hybrid's Wrath and one year before Shippuden

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Pein and Suffering, Part 1

The scene opens to a highly industrial city somewhere hidden in a far away land. An endless sea of storm clouds covered the skies of the city, drowning its inhabitants in an endless downpour. We shift to one of the larger towers in the city, where a young woman appeared to be waiting near an opening to the tower. She had short blue hair and wore a black cloak with red clouds; she took great pride in the paper rose in her hair. The woman remained motionless, watching as the rain continued to drizzle over her home. She then turned slowly around as a shadowed figure approached her from behind.

"Arrived early, have you?" The woman spoke.

"It is always a pleasure to see you, Konan." The figure said sarcastically. "But now is not the time for pleasantries. I must speak to 'him' at once. I have a rather urgent need for a fresh supply."

"What we provide is not simple to obtain." Konan said darkly. "If you wish to obtain what you desire, you must first offer up payment."

"I was expecting you to say that." The dark figure chuckled.

The figure snapped his fingers to call one of his servants out of the shadows. Surprising, one of the Black Arm soldiers stepped forward with a silver case in its claws. The Black Soldier kneeled before Konan and presented her with the items inside the case. It was filled to the brim with stacks of money that would seem impossible to obtain in such a short time. Konan looked over the money with a sharp eye, checking to see its authenticity. Pleased with the payment, Konan closed the case and took it from the Black Soldier.

"Right this way, Black Doom." Konan commanded.

The alien overlord nodded and floated behind Konan up the steps of the tower. With every step that was taken, Black Doom could receive a better view of the city below. Though hidden from the world, this city was one of the most advanced industries in the world, only beaten by Megalo City. Finally, they reached the highest point of the tower and walked out to a small open area. Standing over the edge of the area, in the middle of the rain, was a man who wore the same cloak as Konan. Black Doom moved to make his presence know, but it was not required.

"Back again, Black Doom?" The man questioned.

"I should have known I couldn't fool you." Black Doom said lightly.

"He has come to obtain more of our stock." Konan informed.

"How many has he paid for?" The man questioned.

"Seven." Konan answered shortly.

"Then go prepare his shipment, Konan." The man commanded.

The blue-haired woman nodded and walked back into the tower, happy to get out of the rain. As Konan exited the area, the man turned to present himself to Black Doom. He was around the same age as Konan with spiked orange hair and a headband around his forehead with the Rain symbol present. He had seven piercings and a metal bar through each ear, three studs through his upper nose and one spike stud on each end of his bottom lip. But his most unique feature was his multi-ringed purple eyes. The man stepped down from his ledge and approached Black Doom.

"I hope you can provide me with some necessary bodies, Pein." Black Doom said.

"What happened to the ones I gave you two weeks ago?" Pein questioned. "Ever since we met in The Land of Snow, you have become rather dependant on the bodies I offer. You best consider yourself grateful that I would allow it."

"But I do provide the funds for your little organization, so you can't complain." Black Doom retorted. "Rather, I would not need these bodies if it wasn't for those meddlesome heroes and the filthy disgrace of evil, The Dark Rulers."

"The Dark Rulers?" Pein repeated. "Nazo's organization?"

"Yes." Black Doom nodded. "I am currently hiding from them. Nazo can track my energy anywhere in the world, but he is unable to sense my presence in space. I am risking my life returning to this planet." His three eyes turned to the pierced man. "But how do you know of Nazo?"

"Word of Nazo spreads even to The Village Hidden in Rain." Pein stated. "But what infuriates me is that one of Akatsuki's former subordinates has joined them."

"You must mean Tomo." Black Doom said menacingly. "I believe she was one of your partner's students. His name was Kakuzu, wasn't it?"

"That is correct." Pein stated. "When I find that traitor, she will learn what true pain feels like." His attention was then drawn to the hanging cloud above. "And it appears I will receive that chance."

* * *

The scene alters to the border of the village. With quick precision and stealth, Tomo the Chameleon bound over the outer walls and landed silently in the village streets. Unfortunately, her partner, Nack the Weasel, was not so lucky and fell into an empty trash can. Tomo groaned, rubbing her temple, and turned back to help pull the clumsy weasel out.

"Can you be any more of an idiot?" Tomo seethed

"Excuse me, Miss Ninja." Nack groaned, pulling out of the can. "We can't all be super secret kung-fu freaks."

"Keep your mouth shut, rat." Tomo said threateningly, holding a kunai to his throat. Nack nodded slowly as Tomo replaced the kunai in her glove compartment. "Anyway, Lord Nazo said Black Doom was hiding somewhere in this village. Let's find him and get out as soon as possible."

"Aw, the little lizard afraid of a little rain?" Nack mocked.

"Do you know what this place is?!" Tomo exclaimed frightfully. "This is Amegakure or The Village Hidden in Rain. This is the home village of the Akatsuki leader, Pein."

"Pein." Nack scoffed. "That's a stupid name."

"Pain is one of the most powerful people in the world." Tomo stated. "Maybe even a rival for Lord Nazo. Since I left the Akatsuki, that makes me a fugitive. And if Pein ever finds out we're here, he'll kill us."

"You kidding....right?" Nack asked nervously; Tomo gave no reply. "Aw man, you're serious! I don't care what Nazo does to me! There is no way I'm risking my neck for the three-eyed freak!"

Nack tried to run, but the female chameleon grabbed his jagged tail.

"Lord Nazo gave us a mission." Tomo said, snapping Nack's tail back. "And that means we follow through his orders or die trying."

"Die?" Nack whimpered.

Tomo sighed. The chameleon girl pulled out a pair of black cloaks from the bag she was carry and handed one to Nack. Under the disguise, both Dark Rulers wandered down the soaking streets, not realizing a pair of eye following them. For the next two hours, Tomo and Nack went from place-to-place, asking for any information of Black Doom. From what it seemed, no one had ever heard of the alien overlord. But there were some rumors of a mysterious shadow wandering the halls of the Burial Tower. Many suspected it was only 'Lord Pein' as there were rumors that he resided their. After their long search, Tomo and Nack stopped at the fountain in the center of an empty plaza.

"Well, that was a waste of time." Nack groaned. "I mean, what was the point of that if no one knew who the hell he was?"

"We really should have expected Black Doom to actually show himself." Tomo said, twiddling with her kunai. "He wants to make sure that no one finds him, especially Lord Nazo."

"And he's doing a good job at it." Nack said, jumping back to his feet. "Ah, we better get back to the castle. This mission is a failure."

"Lord Nazo is going to be angry." Tomo said, following the weasel.

"When is he not angry?" Nack joked.

Tomo placed her hand over her mouth in an attempt not to laugh. It was strange, but the only one that had ever been able to force a laugh out of the stern chameleon was Nack. Come to think of it, Nack was the only one who could ever draw any emotion from Tomo. The chameleon realized this and began to think over her time with the clumsy weasel. But just as the two walked towards the exit, Nack suddenly raised his hand to halt them; Tomo could feel it too. They could faintly hear silent footsteps coming from the pipes above. Nack reached into his cloak to pull out his gun and Tomo performed a series of hand signs.

"Ya ready?" Nack smirked.

"Have you forgotten who I am?" Tomo replied.

At once, Nack twisted around and pulled the trigger towards the pipes. The bullet bounced off the pipes, but it was enough to draw out their spy. Finishing her hand signs, Tomo took in a deep breath and huffed out a gigantic ball of flames. Since the figure was in mid-flight, it was impossible to avoid the attack. But to their surprise, the figure stretched his arm to an unimaginable length and pulled himself swiftly out of the fireballs path. As the ball of flame exploded into a nearby building, the shadowed figure dropped into the plaza and few feet away from the dark duo. The figure revealed himself to be none other than Naga the Snake.

"My, that was an impressive attack." Naga complimented coolly. "Judging by that marvelous display and the headband around your neck, I am to guess that you are a kunoichi from the Hidden Leaf Village."

"Yeah, what of it." Tomo sneered.

"Who the hell are you, anyway?" Nack questioned, holding his gun threateningly.

"My name is Naga, the Serpent of Darkness." Naga introduced. "And that would be my apprentice, Kai."

"Who?" Nack questioned.

"I believe he's referring to me." A cold voice answered.

Looking back, the two Dark Ruler confronted with Kai. The blue-haired Nobody swiftly reached into his pouch and shot a sharp dagger for Nack's forehead. But at the last minute, Tomo tossed a kunai to deflect the attack. Nack sighed in relief, but it didn't last long. Naga reached over from the other side of the plaza and dragged the weasel backwards by his heels. Tomo attempted to help her partner, but Kai jumped forward with a dagger raised above her head. Reacting fast, Tomo reached for her compartments and pulled out an enlarged shuriken to block the dagger.

"You are persistent." Kai said emotionlessly.

"We've always been taught at the academy never to give up." Tomo groaned, pushing all her weight towards the shuriken. "But then again, maybe giving up isn't such a bad idea."

"I won't matter." Kai stated. "Within minutes, you'll be dead."

"Which is plenty of time to turn this around." Tomo said confidently.

Tomo shifted her weight and sidestepped away to allow Kai to pass by her. With Kai's back to him, Tomo flung her shuriken for his head. Suddenly, Kai vanished from sight as the shuriken passed by and reappeared in front of the chameleon kunoichi.

"You'll have to be faster than that." Kai stated.

"Damn." Tomo cursed.

Meanwhile, Naga dragged Nack with his extended arm and slammed the weasel into the fountain. The force sent Nack bursting through the pipes and impacting the stone wall behind it. Nack slowly stood up, cracking his sore back, when he noticed Naga's head moving closer. The Heartless viper snapped at Nack's face, but the weasel dropped to the floor at the last minute. With this open opportunity, Nack pulled the trigger with gun aimed for Naga's jugular vein. He nailed a direct hit and Naga dropped dead, head and body.

"Heh! He wasn't so tough!" Nack boasted.

"I can only wonder who you are talking about." A malevolent voice hissed.

Nack shot around with a look of fear in his eyes. He had a right to be afraid as Naga burst through the wall behind him and grasped the weasel by his throat.

"What the hell just happened?!" Nack exclaimed

"You like it?" Naga said, reaching for the face of his clones. He ripped away the scale to reveal the face of a human body in his early teens. "It's a little trick I made from my creator's old jutsu." Nack tried for his gun again, but the viper saw this and quickly knocked the pistol out of his hand. "Little boys shouldn't play with guns. Someone might get hurt."

"I'll show you little!" Nack screamed, flailing his arms and feet. "Let me down so I can bop you upside the head!"

"As amusing as that sounds," Naga chuckled. "I would rather see you suffocate."

With that said, Naga closed his grip around the weasel's throat. The western weasel slowing started to lose oxygen and saw his life flashing before his eyes; Nack smiled at the memory of tricking Tomo into bed. Just as Naga was about to finish the job, Tomo's enlarged shuriken cut across his arm, barely chipping away at his scale. The sudden attack was enough to force Naga to release Nack's throat. With a menacing glare, Naga shot his head over to the battle with the chameleon and his apprentice. Tomo was covered in scratches as she swung her kunai in random directions. Kai suddenly appeared and cut across Tomo's back before vanishing again.

"Where the hell are you?!" Tomo questioned furiously, swing away with her kunai. "Show you damn face!!"

"I believe ninja's are supposed to be calm and collected." Kai's voice echoed. "If you were to truly grasp the concept of ninjutsu, you would realize this."

"Don't talk down to me about ninjutsu." Tomo growled. "You are not a shinobi."

"No." Kai replied, appearing suddenly behind Tomo. "I'm a beyond humanity."

Kai swiftly reached into his pouch, pulled out a dagger, and held it to Tomo's throat. At this range, Tomo couldn't perform any jutsu to defend herself. So the kunoichi did what any chameleon would do in this situation; she stuck out her tongue. This was the first time Tomo had ever resorted to using her usually long tongue. The slimy tendril reached around Kai's wrist and surprisingly lifted Kai over her shoulders. As she tossed the Mysterious Nobody to the ground, Kai landed back to his feet. With a twist of his head, Kai wrapped his bloodstained scarf around Tomo's wrist and flung her across the plaza, forcing her tongue to release. Fortunately, Tomo used her ninja skills to cling to the wall before crashing.

"You are exceedingly annoying." Kai glared. "You are possibly more irksome than Larxene or Demyx."

"I'll accept that as a compliment." Tomo grinned, forming a series of hand signs. "Now allow me to return the gesture. Water Style: Violent Water Wave!!"

Surprisingly enough, instead of expelling an attack, Tomo held her breath and kept her mouth tightly closed. Kai watched with interest as Tomo's body suddenly started to expand with incredible amounts of pressure. When she finally opened her mouth, a harsh jet of water spewed forward. Under normal conditions, this wouldn't have seemed so bad to Kai. But the blue-haired Nobody realized the pressure in the water was stronger than it looked. Acting fast, Kai zipped across the plaza at blinding speed, watching as the water tore through the metal pipes.

"I doubt even Demyx could come up with an attack as powerful as that one." Kai commented.

"I just knew you would approve." Tomo taunted, jumping overhead of the blue-haired Nobody with her leg held out. Unfortunately, Kai raised his forearms to block. "Oh, are you kidding me?"

"You should learn that I am not one to be tampered with." Kai said, pushing the chameleon away.

"If I had a nickel for every time I heard that." Tomo muttered.

Back with Nack and Naga, the weasel wasn't fending for himself very well. Without his gun, Nack was pretty much useless in battle and Naga knew this. Every time Nack would try to reach for his gun, Naga would always find someway to cut him off. Nack's latest attempt was to jump off one of the pipes and dive for his weapon. Unfortunately, the Heartless viper extended his arm and grasped Nack by his ankle, tossing the weasel to the side.

"Oh, this job doesn't pay enough." Nack groaned; Naga grasped his neck. "Aw, crap!"

"As much as I enjoy a good chase, you really need to die." Naga said annoyed. "I have other things to deal with besides handling a lowly rodent and slithering lizard."

"Like getting a facelift?" Nack sniggered.

"That about tears it." Naga said calmly.

Naga raised his other hand over his head, extracting his claws. While currently panicking under the pressure, Nack seemingly noticed that his pistol was somehow closer to them. It must have moved during Tomo's fight. As Naga swiped his claw down, Nack grabbed the pistol and pulled the trigger in Naga's face. Because of the closeness, Naga was barely able to move his head in time; the bullet swiped across his cheek. With the viper momentarily distracted, Nack pulled his gun at Naga's chest. The Heartless Serpent hissed in pain and stepped backwards, looking down at his bleeding chest.

"You miserable rodent!" Naga screeched.

"Tough luck, old timer." Nack smirked, cocking his pistol. "But we all have to go sometime."

"Heads up!" Tomo screamed.

Without warning, Tomo collided with Nack and smacked into the wall with a loud thud. Naga pulled off the upper half of his gi, which revealed his Heartless emblem, and ripped off the section where Nack's bullet hit. By this action, Naga's skin was refreshed and rejuvenated. Naga replaced his gi portion.

"Are you all right, my lord?" Kai asked, trying to sound worried. Being a pure-breed Nobody, he failed.

"I am fine, Kai." Naga stated. "But we've wasted enough time with these two. Clearly, they will not lead us to Black Doom or any of his Black Arms technology."

So that's what this is about." Tomo glared. "You were using us to get some alien technology."

"We have a genius with us, my lord." Kai said sarcastically.

"I can see that." Naga hissed. "What you have to understand is that the Black Arms are of the greatest societies in the universe. Next to the Babylonians, Black Arms technology is the most advance in the universe."

"Why do you need their technology?" Nack questioned. "You're starting to sound like that greedy pigeon, Rodrigo."

"Rodrigo is alive after all these centuries?" Naga questioned surprisingly.

"You know the old bird?" Tomo asked.

"Rodrigo was one of the first Babylonians to set foot on this planet." Kai explained monotone. "He was well known for his greed for power and lust for the darkness. This led to the separation of the two tribes: the Solar Tribe led by King Rakis and the Lunar Tribe led by Rodrigo. They first fought for the domination of Babylon Garden, but the Solar Tribe obtained victory and banished the Lunar Tribe. The two tribes have been at war ever since."

"Wow, what a nice bed-time story." A new young voice said.

The group of four swerved their heads around for the source of the voice. Since most of the plaza was covered in large pipes, the voices could have easily echoed from across the city. As they scanned their surroundings, a more mature voice began to chuckle.

"I think you spooked them, my apprentice." The voice laughed.

"Sorry, master." The young voice chuckled.

"Where are you?" Kai questioned.

"Well, since you asked so nicely..." The young voice taunted.

A moment later, everything was silent. The sudden halt in noise left everyone on edge, trying to predict where their anonymous watchers. Suddenly, a loud swirling sound could be heard swinging around the plaza; Naga dropped down on his palms. Kai looked confused at his master until a black chain suddenly swung from nowhere. The chain wrapped around his body and pinned the Nobody to a nearby pipe. Naga hissed menacingly as the assailant dropped from the rooftops and made himself known. It was the cursed warrior, Xenot.

"Who are you?" Naga hissed.

"Oh, don't mind me." Xenot waved. "I just decided to drop in."

"Boo!! Get off the stage!" Nack shouted.

"Everyone's a critic." Xenot moaned.

While Xenot was distracted by the verbal assault, Naga stealthily slithered his head closer to cursed being. With the warrior's neck close, Naga stretched his jaws to expose his fangs. But before he could strike, the Heartless viper sudden found his body stiff and cold. It was surprisingly painful as he turned his head and stare down at his body. The serpent's entire body was frozen from head to toe. His piercing yellow eyes were now a furious red when he noticed the figure standing next to his frozen body. Master Nyrox leaned against Naga's frozen body while sipping a cup of green tea.

"Hmm, still not good enough." Nyrox shook. "I could never make it as good as King."

"Who are you?" Naga hissed.

"Oh, sorry about that." Nyrox said nonchalantly. "I am Master Nyrox, Master of Light." He pointed to Xenot. "And that is my apprentice...Who is currently called Xenot."

"I abandoned my true name when I took this form." Xenot said sadly.

"You said you were friends with King, correct?" Naga questioned; Nyrox nodded. "Then give me a reason why we shouldn't kill you right now."

"For one thing, you and your apprentice are trapped." Xenot pointed; Naga hissed evilly.

"Listen, I have a proposition for you." Nyrox said calmly. "We can either leave you here for someone to kill you...or we can set you free and discuss this like rational men."

Naga and Kai glanced at one another. Both men knew that in their currently situation, they were in the position to be making threats. With a great sigh, Naga nodded; his neck was cramped because of his stiff neck. Seeing their reluctant acceptance, Nyrox used his mastery of fire to free Naga from his icy prison. Xenot walked over to Kai, both fighters glaring at one another, and retracted the black chain into particle of darkness. Sensing that everyone was calm again, Tomo and Nack slowly pulled back to their feet. All six warriors gathered near the destroyed fountain, everyone sharing a moment of silence.

"So..." Nack said awkwardly, turning to Nyrox and his apprentice. "What are you guys here for?"

"We heard rumors of a demon that regularly visits this village." Nyrox stated, patting his hand on his apprentice's shoulder. "I figured there was a chance it might be Xenot's little brother, Kyuta."

"It's possibly Black Doom." Naga hissed. "All the rumors spread across this village are centered around his number of visits."

"Then we were wrong." Xenot sighed. "My brother was never here to begin with."

"I'm sorry, Xenot." Nyrox said apologetically.

There was a moment of silence between the six, all respecting Xenot's depression. But the moment didn't last long as a bolt of lightning suddenly crashed inside the circle of warriors. The sudden explosion forced the six fighters to jump away. As they did, six more bolts of lightning dropped the sky, all aimed for each individual.

Naga twisted his stretchable body to avoid the bolt. Kai used a three-pronged dagger to absorb the energy. Nyrox summoned a mirror of ice to reflect it. Xenot summoned his trademark double-bladed black sword to split it in half. Tomo performed a lightning jutsu to nullify the attack. Nack couldn't avoid it, but got lucky since it only burned his hat. As the six warriors landed, they could faintly see a misshapen shadow in the cloud of dust. All warriors prepared for battle with the exception on Nack, who was sobbing over his burned hat.

"Aw man!" Nack cried. "I stole this hat from Clint Eastwood!"

"What was that?" Kai questioned

"The end." Tomo said frightfully.

As the dust cloud began to settle, the figure stood solemn in the center where the first lightning bolt hit. He was a yellow lion with a prickling mane surrounding his face. Like Pein and Konan, he wore the Akatsuki cloak with the Rain headband around his neck. He had four piercing sticking in his ears, two studs hanging from his bottom lip, and three piercings going down his nose. The most surprising feature was that he possessed the same purple, multi-ringed eyes as Pein.

"It's been a while, Tomo." The lion said.

"The leader of the Akatsuki, Pein." Tomo muttered.

"You shall experience true pain." Pein stated.

* * *

**The true test of strength begin! Can these unlikely group of aliies fend off this new enemy? Will Pein too great of a match for them? And what secrets does Pein's newest form possess? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	70. Pein and Suffering, Part 2

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Naruto © Kishimoto  
Tomo © Kiba Sniper

Chapter Seventy: Pein and Suffering, Part 2

It was an awkward first meeting for six well known warriors in The Village Hidden in Rain. Tomo and Nack were assigned to hunt down Black Doom when they encountered Naga and his apprentice, Kai. Due to a misfortunate misunderstanding, both sides engaged each other in battle. For a few short moments, it seemed like the venomous serpent had won until Master Nyrox and his apprentice, Xenot, broke up the fight. Under Nyrox's command, the group decided to come to a comprimise. All was going well at the moment except for one thing: the arrival of a new lethal enemy in the form of a lion. Not much was known about this enemy, but one rare distinction gave him away: his purple multi-ringed eyes. Tomo was literally shaking from the sight of this man.

"It's been a while, Tomo." The lion said.

"Hey, you know this guy?" Nack asked, tossing away the charred remains of his hat.

"He's the leader of the Akatsuki: Pein." Tomo said shakily.

"Pein?" Xenot sniggered. "That's a dumb name."

"Xenot isn't exactly common either." Kai stated emotionlessly.

"You wanna go another round!" Xenot shouted angrily. "Cause I'm up for kicking you behind across the floor again."

"You merely caught me off guard." Kai said carelessly. "In a forward fight, you would not stand a chance."

"Why I oughta..." Xenot seethed

"Enough, Xenot!" Nyrox said sternly. "We have other problems to contend to."

"If you consider this a problem." Naga hissed. "His appearance may be intimidating, but I can tell he is not at all what he appears." He turned to Nyrox. "My creator, Orochimaru, told me much about this 'Pein'. He acts like a child playing with a toy that does not belong to him."

"Then I can finish this, no problem." Xenot said confidently. The armored warrior held out his hands to collect a mass of black particles from the air. The particles formed together into his signature black-steeled double-bladed sword. He shifted a look in Kai's direction. "Hope you're taking notes."

"Hmph." Kai huffed.

"Be careful, Xenot." Nyrox warned. "You don't what you are getting in..."

But before the aged master could finish, Xenot had already taken flight from the scattered pipelines. Pein followed the young warrior's movements across the plaza and did nothing as Xenot dropped overhead with his blade raised. But just as Xenot's blade made contact with Pein's mane, a wave of electricity flowed down the steel of the blade and shot the warrior across the plaza. Though he had no heart, Kai could hide the state of surprise on his expression. Groaning loudly, Xenot tried to push himself back up. Unfortunately, Pein appeared before him and placed an open palm on the warrior's chest, releasing a surge of electricity. Xenot cried out in pain as the wave of electricity began to rip through his suit and slightly cracked the visor of his helmet. Just when Pein was ready to finish the job, he released Xenot in order to stop a series of flying daggers from stabbing him from behind. When he looked back, Kai had already rushed Xenot to safety.

"T-thanks." Xenot said gratefully.

"Don't mention it..." Kai said coldly. "...Ever."

"Xenot, you and Kai try to run for safety while Naga and I fend him off." Nyrox instructed before looking over Tomo and Nack. "And take them with you. They are obviously in no condition to fight."

"You do not command me." Kai glared.

"Do what he says, Kai." Naga hissed.

Kai wondered what reason Naga would have to retreat, but refrained from asking. As his apprentice picked up the armored warrior, Naga noticed something odd about Xenot. He was desperately using his powers to patch up his suit and the venomous cobra noticed a wisp of darkness escaping from the small opening.

"_Nyrox's apprentice is nothing but absolute darkness._" Naga thought. "_The only thing keeping his soul bound to this world is by suppressing that darkness into the suit. That bit of information will be useful later._"

Master and apprentice nodded to each other before jumping across the rooftops to safety. Nack, powered by fear, gained the strength of ten men and scrambled to the roof while carrying Tomo over his head. Pein made direct movement to follow them, but stepped back when a sharpened claw motioned past his face. Looking over, Pein was able to sidestep past Naga's kick as the Heartless snake was soaring across the plaza. Seeing an opening in Naga's defenses, Pein held out his hand and began to gather a culmination of electricity in his palm. But before his could strike, Nyrox zoomed in with yellow staff and knocked Pein's hand away, sending the electric bolt flying across the sky. The aged master swung his staff around again, but Pein had already jumped across the plaza before he could hit.

"Do not interfere." Pein instructed. "I do not have any quarrel. I merely seek to punish my betrayer."

"But violence is not the answer." Nyrox stated calmly. "Perhaps you could try coming to an agreement of some sort."

"That is just sad." Naga shook. "Preaching to a hopeless cause."

"We do not need any blood to be shed, Naga." Nyrox glared. "I thought you would have learned from your previous mistakes."

"Why waste our time in agreement when others are bound to break their words?" Naga hissed angrily, sending a hateful glare to the fox master. "I bet you would know a lot about breaking words."

"What he speaks of is true." Pein stated. "A once innocent promise grows to be nothing more than a false testament. Only through pain can one learn to grow and see the truth in a field of lies. That is how I have come to become the only man in a world of infants."

"With what you say, you consider yourself to be higher than mortal." Nyrox said.

"You are a normal person." Pein continued. "But I, living in an infinite universe of pain, have grown from a normal man into something greater...into a God. And as a God, what I think and what I say becomes the law of a God."

"You do not understand what it means to be a God." Naga hissed furiously. "How could you, a mere child, understand what truly lies beyond this universe?"

"Things I could not comprehend as a simple man are clear to me now." Pein said. "With endless pain I have evolved beyond any breed of life."

"And what exactly do you have planned with your 'godly' powers?" Nyrox questioned.

"Though we exist on this world, it is still in a state of infancy." Pein said lowly. "To help it grow, I will force it to evolve through pain just as I have. And then, this world will become truly perfect."

"And you plan to use the ongoing war to do it." Naga hissed. "That is why you have been helping that infection, Black Doom. You sell him the weapons and he brings the destruction."

"And Tomo knows about this." Nyrox continued. "That is why you wish for her death."

"We must all grow in time; I am merely pushing it forward." Pein said, holding out his palms. "Now allow yourselves to mature and experience true pain."

Suddenly, a series of electrified bolts escaped from Pein's palms and showered over his enemies. Nyrox pressed his foot into the ground, which called a wall of stone to protect them. Unfortunately, Nyrox had only realized it was a trap when Pein jumped over the wall with his claw covered in electricity. Surprisingly enough, it was Naga who came to his rescue. The venomous serpent coiled himself around Pein's body and they both slammed into the ground. Taking the opportunity, Nyrox summoned a yellow broad sword made from light particles. As he swung the blade over Pein's head, the Akatsuki Leader released a barrier of electricity. The barrier not only burned Naga completely, but it expanded and enveloped Nyrox within it. Pein stood up and inspected his recent kill, but was surprised by the fact that they were not Nyrox or Naga. It was two villagers both wearing the same clothing and skin as the two masters.

"This will prove to be more difficult than I thought." Pein said. He held his hand to the sky and a bird made of paper landed into his palm. Pein brought his hand down to direct the paper bird. "But they won't get far. You know waht to do, Konan."

* * *

The scene shifts to the other side of the village as Naga and Nyrox were jumping across the rooftops in a hasty retreat.

"I still don't approve of that tactic!" Nyrox shouted, following the Heartless snake. "Those innocent villagers did not have to get involved in our battle."

"Be grateful." Naga hissed, jumping to another roof. "If I had not replaced ourselves with them, we would be in their place. Besides, sacrifices need to be made for the greater good." His eyes gazed to the aged master. "I believe it was you who taught me that, Master Nyrox."

"I know what I said." Nyrox said sadly. "And I regret every mistake."

"Such as the mistake with your apprentice." Naga grinned, drawing the attention of the fox master. "Oh, I know everything about him now. You made a mistake and now he suffers for it. He is a shadow forced to live the rest of his life it that suit." He looked back momentarily. "I can understand his suffering."

"It as been twenty-three years and you haven't changed, Naga." Nyrox said grimly.

"Oh, I've changed." Naga stated, stopping for a moment to confront the aged master. "I am no longer that helpless infant you and King discovered in the forest. After you ruined everything I worked for, I began to grow stronger without your help. I have seen the truth in the darkness. I regret my foolish ways in my younger days."

"Do you still blame us for that?" Nyrox questioned. "It was not our decision to make. Your heart had become too tainted with darkness and greed. My master knew that you were not the Destined One."

"I remember." Naga glared. "That decrepit old fool was too blinded by his own jealousy. He envied my skills and deliberately denied me when he knew that I was the right choice."

"Master Xehanort was the wisest man that ever lived!" Nyrox exclaimed. "He was far greater than you'll ever be!"

"Then explain to me why he's dead?" Naga smirked.

It a moment of outrage, Nyrox was threatened to kill the snake on the spot. Just then, Nyrox dropped to his knees and clutched his chest in pain. Naga knew that Nyrox suffered from exceeding heart pains due to his defiance to the laws of nature and enjoyed watching him suffering. After taking a few deep breaths, Nyrox managed to regain control of his pulses. At that moment, Kai and Xenot arrived to assist their masters; Nack was still carrying Tomo as he followed them.

"Damn, I never knew she was so heavy." Nack panted. Tomo snapped out of her trance after hearing Nack claim and slapped him senseless. "Oh, now she's awake."

"It's good to have you back." Xenot sniggered.

"Whatever." Tomo scoffed. "Anything happen while I was out."

"Naga and I confronted Pein." Nyrox informed. "As expected, he is far more powerful than we could have imagined. We were barely able to hold our own against him."

"Of course you didn't stand a chance against Pein." Tomo said seriously. "Pein is one of the most powerful beings in this world. Even Lord Nazo would tremble at his presence."

"Sounds like you admire him." Kai said blandly.

"I'm just being realistic." Tomo countered. "From all the stories I had heard from the other Akatsuki members, Pein has never been defeated in a battle. He even killed the legendary Hanzo the Salamander and everyone that was connected to him."

"Since you seem to know a lot about this guy." Naga sneered. "Why don't you inform us of what we are dealing with?"

"Actually, this is the first time I've ever seen him." Tomo said sheepishly; the others groaned. "But I have learned that Pein is purposely creating war and capturing the Tailed-Beasts to further his plan. And from what Kakuzu Sensei told me, Pein is also in possessing of a legendary Rinnegan."

"The Rinnegan?" Naga repeated.

"You know of it, my lord?" Kai asked.

"I've done previous research when working with Orochimaru." Naga explained. "The Rinnegan is the most powerful of all dojutsu. It was first discovered by the Sage of Six Paths, the creator of ninjutsu. Legend has it that whoever possesses the Rinnegan will be able to perform any technique imaginable and control the six natural elements."

"That's strange." Nyrox said thoughtfully. "If he has control over the six elements, why is he only using the lightning element?"

"I don't know, but I think we have bigger problems." Nack said.

The other five stared at the weasel strangely as he pulled out his pistol. Suddenly, Nack spun around on his heel and fired at a nearby shop below. The bullet ricocheted off the wall, effectively frightening the paper bird near the window sill. The group watched as the paper bird took to the sky and was headed back to the direction of the plaza.

"We've been found out." Xenot said. "Any moment now, Pein will realize where we are."

"And what are we supposed to do when he gets here?" Kai questioned.

"Well...I might have an idea." Tomo said.

Ten minutes later, Pein jumped down from his tower and landed in the central shopping district where Nyrox and the others were found. The shoppers scattered and screamed once their God had arrived; they dived into any place considered safe. With the use of his Rinnegan, Pein scanned the area for any signs of his prey. So far, all he could see was the energies of the locals; not a trace of any abnormal energy.

"They must be concealing their energies." Pein muttered. "No doubt the work of the sage." His multi-ringed eyes continued to search down the narrow streets. "Where are you hiding?"

"I do not hide from a feeble opponent."

Pein stared into the air when he noticed Kai hovering over him. The blue-haired Nobody reached into his jacket and sent a hailstorm of daggers aimed for Pein. The Akatsuki Leader did not show fear, but released several bolts from his body to reflect every dagger. As Kai landed, Pein released an electrified wave of energy into the ground. Kai was fast, but even he could never outrun lightning. Just as they about to connect, Xenot's sword cut into the ground in front of Kai and absorbed the attack. A moment later, the warrior himself jumped next to Kai before grabbing his sword.

"Thanks." Kai said disgustedly.

"Heh! Now we're even." Xenot sniggered.

"You believe a few children would be enough to defeat me?" Pein said.

"Hey, who are you calling children?" Xenot exclaimed. "I'm sixteen for your information!"

While they were distracted, Pein glanced to the clouds above. In that instant, two large bolt of lighting escaped and charged downwards towards their targets. Barely noticing this, Kai grabbed Xenot by his collar and dragged the armored warrior into an alley. It may have saved them from the attack, but it now left both warriors at a dead end. And to make matters worse, Pein stepped in the path which served as their only escape. He held out his hand for an attack, but was stopped when he felt something cling against one of the studs on his forearm. Pein's multi-ringed eyes searched around the street and found Nack on a nearby rooftop with his pistol raised.

"Damn, this thing must be defective." Nack cursed, pounding his pistol into the concrete

"Allow me to assist you."

"Hey, thanks." Nack said happily. Unfortunately, he discovered the one who offered help was Pein, who was standing straight behind him. "Why don't I ever get a break?"

Pein raised his hand, which was covered in a mass of electricity, and stabbed it forward at the weasel. Thankfully, Nack was such a klutz that it actually saved his life. The weasel fell back over the roof edge and barely avoided Pein's attack. While Nack collided with the ground, Pein ripped away at the building, destroying the support that lifted the place up. Nack groaned as he sat up, not noticing the collapsing building falling over him. Fortunately, Kai appeared from nowhere and dragged the weasel down the street in under five seconds.

"Think he's finish?" Nack asked hopefully.

"I doubt it." Xenot answered.

As the dust cloud began to fade from the ruins, Pein could be seen walking back into the street without as much as a scratch. The trio gathered their weapons as Pein slowly made his way towards them. No one made any sudden movements in any case that Pein would find a way to counteract them. Pein stopped a few yards away from them, his eyes closed in concentration. Xenot and Kai remained cool under the pressure, but Nack was shaking from head-to-toe. Because of his nasty trigger finger, Nack accidentally shot a bullet without warning. Suddenly, Pein's eyes shot wide open and a powerful force of electricity culminated around his body. The bullet rebounded off the electric field. Pein raised his arm to the sky, sending every volt in his body into the clouds. The trio looked on in wonderment.

"What do you think he's up to now?" Xenot asked.

"After all we've been through today, do you even have to ask?" Kai replied sarcastically.

"You have been deemed unworthy by your performance." Pein said judgmentally. "You're abilities in battle have been unacceptable in the face of God. As such, you shall be punished in the most prominent way."

"I don't like where this is going." Nack said cowardly.

"Experience true pain!" Pein exclaimed.

With everything said, Pein brought down his arm. This action created a cataclysmic reaction in the clouds and ripped the sky open. The trio looked up in fear, with the exception of Kai, when they noticed a gigantic sphere of electrical energy. In one ravage move, the sphere shot itself down to Earth. Kai and Xenot raised their weapons, but even they weren't powerful enough to stop the attack. Just when the battle looked finish, a swirling object was tossed from a nearby tower and cut into the center of the sphere. The sudden attack ripped the sphere in two and Pein recalled the electricity back into his body. While the trio, except Kai, celebrated the survival, Pein noticed found the object that destroyed his attack cut into one of the pipelines. It was an enlarged shuriken, but Pein's Rinnegan noticed a powerful aura surrounding it.

"_That shuriken is empowered with chaos energy._" Pein thought. "_Only someone exceptionally skilled could perform a technique that can cancel out nature manipulated techniques. Someone like Tomo._"

Pein activated his Rinnegan eyes once more and searched the tower where the shuriken appeared. As his eyes focused, he didn't find the chameleon kunoichi, but discovered a hole in the ground large enough for her to fit through. By the time he had discovered where the tunnel led to, it was too late. Tomo suddenly burst from the ground, performing a series of hand signs.

"Water Style: Violent Water Wave!" Tomo called

Tomo's body expanded greatly before expelling the excess water through her mouth. Pein raised his arm in defense as a powerful jet of pressurized water ripped across his body. Once drained of her attack, Tomo flipped backwards to join her allies.

"That's it?" Xenot asked disappointed. "You just splashed him with water."

"Everything happens for a reason." Tomo smirked.

"And that reason would be?" Kai questioned monotone.

"Just wait for it." Tomo said proudly.

Back to Pein, the Akatsuki Leader lowered his arms and revealed that damages caused by the chameleon kunoichi. Pein's body was entirely soaked and the upper right portion of his cloak had been ripped apart. While the four warriors prepared themselves for battle, Pein stared at his palms, watching feeble sparks flying die out from his fingers.

"You knew water was the only thing that could short out my electrical abilities." Pein stated.

"She did?" Nack asked, looking to his partner. "How'd ya know?"

"It made sense." Tomo explained. "Before we fought Naga, it was raining. But after we tried to escape from Pein, it suddenly stopped. My guess is that he can control the rain and forced it to stop so that it wouldn't interact with his abilities."

"You're a smart little girl." A familiar voice hissed.

Suddenly, a pair of venomous green hands smashed through the walls of a nearby shop and clutched Pein by his shoulders. A moment later, Naga jumped into the open before coiling his arms to constrict Pein from Head-to-toe. As the Akatsuki Leader struggled to break free, Nyrox suddenly appeared in front of the man with a grim look on his expression. Pein returned the look with an empty expression.

"Do you show pity towards me?" Pein questioned.

"I am going to give you a choice." Nyrox said depressingly. "You can surrender this dark ambition of creating worldly pain and return to life before this."

"My ambition shall never die." Pein stated. "This world will mature only through the excessive pain given by its denizens. You may kill me, but the world shall continue in my stead. This world shall mature whether by my hands or by yours."

"Then you leave me with no choice." Nyrox sighed.

Nyrox bowed his head and held out his hand as a collective mass of light particles began to gather. The aged master clutched his hand and summoned a yellow staff with a white spear head. Nyrox closed his eyes, not wanting to see the unholy crime he was about to commit. In one swift movement, Nyrox thrusted the spear towards Pein's head. But just as he was a few inches away, a column of stone suddenly jutted from the ground and snapped the spear in half. Naga gazed in interest before noticing a tornado of flames dropping from the sky over Pein. The Heartless snake recalled his arms moments before the flames engulfed the Akatsuki Leader.

"What's that?" Naga hissed; Nyrox and the others joined at his side.

"Unfortunately, I have a feeling we're going to find out." Tomo said seriously.

As the tornado of flames cleared away, Pein was found to be safe from harm. Apparently, the flames not only set him free, but also dried his fur to return his electrical powers. Things were only getting worse when he was joined by two other creatures at his side. To his right was a large brown bear with a white claw mark going down his face. He had three studs around each eye and four studs going down each side of his face. To Pein's left was black coyote with purple striped markings across his face. He had a bar going through each ear, two studs between his eyes, and six large studs around his neck. Both intruders wore the Akatsuki cloak and, amazingly, both possessed the Rinnegan.

"What?!" Nack screamed. "They all have those freaky eyes?! I thought only the middle guy had it!"

"This can't be right." Xenot said. "It impossible for more than one person to have the Rinnegan."

"We live in a world of impossibility." Kai said. "Anything can happen."

"I applaud that you were able to defeat the Raiton Path." The Coyote said.

"But now you shall understand what pain I have suffered through." The Bear said.

"You shall feel the power of the Katon and Doton Path." Pein, now known as the Raiton Path, proclaimed. "You shall learn the wrath of a God."

The scattered skies rumbled as the tension between rivaled forces began to clash. The battle had moved to a new level.

* * *

** A storm is coming for our unlikely heroes. Can this band of six warriors defeat Pein's newest abilties? What secrets lie within these new creatures that have appeared? And what other mysteries lurk between both forces? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	71. Pein and Suffering, Part 3

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Naruto © Kishimoto  
Tomo © Kiba Sniper

Chapter Seventy-One: Pein and Suffering, Part 3

The group of unlikely allies had almost tasted victory until it was suddenly taken away from them. With a brilliant strategy made by Tomo, the temporary team managed to overcome Pein and the powers of the ultimate dojutsu, the legendary Rinnegan. Just as they were about to end the life of the fabled eye wielder, a new set of enemies appeared to them. The lion that had been referred to as the Raiton Path was narrowly saved by two new figures: a coyote and a bear. On normal occasions, this would not be anything to worry about. But that was before they noticed their eyes; they each possessed the Rinnegan.

"What?!" Nack screamed. "They all have those freaky eyes?! I thought only the middle guy had it?!"

"This can't be right." Xenot said. "It impossible for more than one person to have the Rinnegan."

"We live in a world of impossibility." Kai said. "Anything can happen."

"I applaud that you were able to defeat the Raiton Path." The Coyote said.

"But now you shall understand what pain I have suffered through." The Bear continued.

"You shall feel the power of the Katon and Doton Path." Raiton Pein proclaimed. "You shall learn the wrath of a God."

"You don't know when to quit, do you?" Naga hissed. "You are just a foolish human pretending to be something your not."

"Naga, don't upset him." Nyrox warned.

"Why are we cowering in fear of him?" Naga questioned. "We have already defeated one of them. Two more will not pose any threat."

"But we're dealing with someone who has the Rinnegan." Tomo said. "Maybe if we regroup, we can..."

The chameleon kunoichi was unable to finish before Naga stretched both his arms at the group of Rinnegan users. Reacting to Naga's assault, the bear, better known as the Doton Path, stepped a few feet from his other halves and slammed his palms into the ground. Just inches before Naga could claw at the Doton Path's throat, a wall of stone jutted between the two. As the Heartless snake retracted his arm, Doton Pein slammed his fist into the wall, fragmenting the stone into hundreds of shards. Just before the fragments could hit, Xenot appeared to his defense with a giant black shield to block the bombardment.

"Don't think this means I owe you." Naga hissed.

"You're welcome." Xenot replied sarcastically.

"You cannot hide." Raiton Pain stated. "I am god, I see everything."

"See this!" The Raiton Path looked over and found Tomo performing an array of hand signs. "Wind Style: Wind Slicer!!"

Gathered a large amount of wind energy into her hand, Tomo reached for her katana and swung towards Raiton Pein. The swipe released a blade of concentrated air that cut clean across everything that was in its path. All of a sudden, the coyote, also know as the Katon Path, jumped in front and clapped his hands together. Katon Pein's chest expanded for a moment before expelling a jet of flames from his mouth. It is well known that fire overpowers wind elements, which made no exception as the jet of fire ripped through the wind slicer. Since Tomo had been using jutsu the entire day, she was too weak to move and left wide open for attack. But before the flame could burn her alive, Kai jumped in front, absorbing the flames with a red dagger.

"What have you done?" Katon Pein questioned curiously.

"In anticipation for this mission, I took the liberty of forging special weapons." Kai explained, revealing colored daggers in the side-pouch he brought.

"Weapons forged from pure elemental energies." Raiton Pein said. "Each blade has the power to absorb and repel each individual element. I must admit that you three are more persistent than I expected." Suddenly, he twisted around to face Nack, who was sneaking behind the godly ninja. "But it will not be enough."

"Aw, damn." Nack swore.

Raiton Pein grasped Nack by his throat, forcing him to drop the pistol he held. Adding to the suffering, Raiton Pein discharged a flow of electrical energy from his palm into the weasel's body. Nack screamed bloody murder until he felt a cold sensation near his throat. For a moment, he thought he was dead until he noticed that Raiton Pein's hand was completely frozen. A moment later, Nyrox ripped Nack from Pein's grasp and jumped backwards down the street, collecting Nack's weapon in the process.

"You should have been more careful." Nyrox informed. "You don't know what he is capable of."

"I thought I had him." Nack said. "His back was turned to me and he somehow knew that I was coming."

"_Yes, that is odd._" Nyrox thought.

The aged fox quickly grabbed Nack and jumped to the rooftops, watching the battle below from a safe point. Nyrox followed the patterns of his allies and the three Pein's before noticing something strange between them. Every time one of their allies would attack Pein from behind, he would somehow always know where they were and how to counteract their movements. Nack also pointed out that each individual Pein was watching each other during the battle. Finally, it came to him.

"We can't win in this situation." Nyrox stated.

"Say what?" Nack asked shakily.

"Everyone, run to safety!" Nyrox shouted, attracting the attention of all fighters. "We can beat Pein in a group! We need to fall back and come up with a plan!"

"You want us to run?!" Naga hissed.

"I think that's the idea." Xenot said, following his master's orders.

"A true warrior does not flee from a fight." Kai stated.

"Then you shall perish with a warrior's death." Doton Pein stated.

The Doton Path stabbed into the street and ripped out two massive boulders from the Earth. While the Doton path hurled them into the air, the Katon Path jumped off the bear's back and began performing a series of hand signs. Once finished, he ejected a torrent of flames from his mouth that engulfed the boulders, turning them into pure magma. As the lava rocks were soaring in their direction, Tomo jumped in front of Naga and Kai while performing her own hand signs.

"Ninja Art: Space/Time Jutsu!" Tomo shouted.

Just as the molten rock was inches away from its target, all three warriors flickered from sights. Pein did not seem angered by their escape, but rather unaffected by it. All three Pein's gathered together with the Raiton Path giving a single order.

"Scatter."

And with that, all three Pein's separated to their individual destinations.

* * *

The scene alternates to the other side of the village far from Pein's view. Using her advanced ninja skills, Tomo was able to transport herself and her temporary allies to safety. Unfortunately, the technique had drained her of all her energy, making her complete helpless. Luckily, Nyrox managed to apply some healing light to help further her regeneration. It wasn't much, but it was enough to get her back on her feet.

"Thanks." Tomo muttered.

"I'm just glad to see that you are ok." Nyrox said.

"Why did you order us to retreat?" Naga hissed angrily, grabbing Nyrox by his coat. Xenot jumped to defend his master, but the aged fox waved his hand to stop him. "We could have defeated him. His power is insignificant to ours."

"And that is why you were never the Destined One." Nyrox said calmly, prying Naga's hands away. "You set yourself too high above your opponent without knowing their true capabilities. There are many things were have not realized about Pein until now."

"Like what?" Kai questioned.

"Let's start with the basics." Nyrox said. "We already know he possesses the legendary Rinnegan, which gives him accesses to an unlimited number of techniques. And on top of that, he is able to control separate entities, each of them possessing their own element. Not only that, they also have the power of the Rinnegan at their side, giving them a limitless numbers of elemental techniques as well."

"And he's the Akatsuki Leader." Tomo added. "The Akatsuki is one of the more power organizations in the world. And Pein single-handedly won the civil war in the Rain Village by killing their leader and everyone connected to him."

"So you're saying this guy really is a God." Xenot said.

"I wouldn't go that far." Nyrox said lowly. "It is true that he has strength and powers are far beyond anything we have encountered, but we're not defeated yet." He turned to Nack. "Our friend here discovered a secret ability in Pein."

"Nack?" Tomo questioned; she sniggered lightly. "You're kidding right."

"Hey, I can be smart when I want to." Nack grimace before turning to the group. "Anyway, I noticed that all the Pein's were looking at each other during the fight. And wherever we attacked, that Pein would always know where we are. I think they might be sharing the same sight."

"Is such a thing possible?" Kai questioned.

"It is not unheard of." Naga hissed lowly. "The Sage of Six Paths was well-known for using a similar technique. Pein must not only be utilizing the bodies for their elements, but also to cover any blind spots. If he can see us from three different directions, there are no chances that we will be able to take advantage of the situation."

"Couldn't we just split them up?" Xenot asked.

"That wouldn't work." Nyrox shook. "Knowing Pein, he wouldn't separate unless he had a plan to protect himself. And unless we have some way to blind them all at once, I do not see any hopes of us winning."

"Well..." Naga said pleasantly. "There might be one option left."

* * *

Back with Pein. The Katon Path was moving through the drenched streets; few citizens cowered in his presence. While he was considered a savoir amongst most of his people, very few saw him as a demon. With all the commotion going on around the village, it would be difficult for a normal man to hunt his prey. But Pein was far from normal. With his Rinnegan eyes; the Akatsuki Leader searched the streets high and low for any signs of Nyrox or the others.

"_I know they did not leave the village._" Pein thought. "_Now where are they hiding?_"

He searched through the eyes of his other bodies, both of which were failing as much as he was. Suddenly, the Katon Path flipped backwards into the air while dodging a large black shuriken. Once he landed, Katon Pein turned to face Xenot, who was wielding his signature double-bladed katana. Many of the citizens had vanished from the streets once they realized a fight had broke out.

"Whoa, you're better than I thought you were." Xenot said, slightly impressed. Katon Pein rushed over to Xenot, grabbing the warrior by his wrist and twisting it behind his back. "Hey, watch the goods!"

"You are too foolish to defeat me alone." Katon Pein stated.

"Who said I was alone." Xenot chuckled.

Pein felt a sudden energy spike and turned in the direction of flying shuriken. Suddenly, the shuriken exploded into a cloud of smoke and revealed Tomo the Chameleon hiding within the smog. While Katon Pein wasn't looking, Xenot summoned his black shield and slammed it into the Akatsuki Leader's face. As Pein stumbled back, Tomo reached into her compartments are released a swarm of kunai and shuriken. Acting fast, Katon Pein jumped in midair; Xenot used the shield to protect himself. What Pein didn't realize was that he was set up. Kai suddenly appeared above him and slammed his heel at the top of his head, sending the Rinnegan wielder crashing into the streets below. While the Katon Path struggled to get back up, Kai tossed a horde of daggers for the Akatsuki Leader. Unfortunately, the Doton Path erupted from the ground and blocked the daggers with his body, which had been temporarily turned to stone. The group gathered together as they faced the two Pein's.

"That makes two." Kai announced.

"Now all that left is to draw out that first body." Xenot said.

"Don't worry." Tomo said nonchalantly. "If everything goes all right, Nack should be able to bring him around." The teenage duo stared at her. "You're right. We're doomed."

"Stand still so that I may pass judgment on you." Doton Pein said, clapping his hands together.

"Sorry, I skipped my court date." Tomo sniggered; Xenot groaned at her lame attempt at a joke.

The Doton Path slammed his palms to the ground, which erected a violent quake that shook the village. Tomo and the others jumped from one side to another as fragments of the buildings began to topple near them. Suddenly, the Earth began to split open down the street, forcing the group to jump towards the rooftops. Unfortunately, Katon Pein was waiting for them. The fire breathing coyote began calling a large amount of flames from his throat. And since the group was hovering in midair, they had no chance of escape. But seconds before the Katon Path could finish, he suddenly cupped his right eye, which started bleeding. As the group landed, they found Nack standing on the roof across from them with his pistol loaded.

"Impressive shot!" Kai shouted, not showing the slightest emotion.

"Ah, it's tough being this good." Nack said conceitedly.

"You believe yourself to be superior?"

"Sure, it's not like..." Nack turned and faced the Raiton Path. "Why does all the bad stuff happen to me?"

Raiton Pein released a surge of electrical energy from his body, just as Nack jumped across the rooftops. The weasel was barely able to grab the edge of the building before Tomo and Xenot pulled him up. Nack panted in relief, but it was no time for relaxation. Kai whipped his scarf around and pulled his allies back just in time as the Doton Path smashed through the roof. While the group drew out their weapons, the Katon and Raiton Paths jumped next to their other part; the Katon Path was blinded in his right eye. Before the group could even flinch, Doton Pein slammed him foot, creating Earth shackles that prevented them from moving. They were easy targets. As the battle raged on, Nyrox and Naga were watching from a nearby tower. Nyrox looked fearful, but Naga was calm and collected.

"They're going to die, you know." Naga stated. "Unless you are willing to follow the plan."

"I can't do that." Nyrox said hesitantly "I made a solemn vow to Master Xehanort."

"Are willing to risk the life of your student all for the sake of a promise." Naga smirked.

Nyrox was at a difficult spot. If he broke his promise to his former master, he would be committing a great evil. But if he didn't, the lives of his apprentice and others would be lost. After take the time to think, Nyrox sighed.

"All right." Nyrox said lowly. "But only to save Xenot and the others."

"Of course." Naga hissed.

Turning to each other, Naga kneeled to the aged master. With slight hesitation, Nyrox placed is palm on the Heartless snake's forehead. Suddenly, Nyrox's hand was engulfed in a black flame as he cried out.

"UNBINDING SEAL!!"

A column of dark fire erupted into the sky, ripping the shrouding clouds apart. This event redirected Pein's assault on the group and stared in wonderment of the event.

"What is that?" Raiton Pein question. "It holds the same essence as the snake."

"Lord Naga..." Kai smirked evilly. "His return is complete."

As the dreaded flames began to die down, Master Nyrox suddenly appeared to break his apprentice and allies free from their bindings. The three Pein's turned their heads to the disturbance; a big mistake on their part. When the flames parted, a massive beast head lunged at the Rinnegan master; Pein was barely able to dodge it in time. The three paths looked above and found themselves faced with a fifty-foot long venomous green serpent with spike ridges down its back. But what made this creature even more deadly was the seven other heads sprouting from its neck.

"The Hydra Technique." Doton Pein spoke. "A jutsu originally developed by Orochimaru."

"I see you recognize my creator." The hydra spoke in Naga's voice. "I was originally capable of performing the technique in my youth. But because of a minor...mishap, I was restricted of my true prowess. And thanks to you, I was able to set myself free from seal that suppressed my powers. You should feel honored to be in the presence of a true god."

"You could never become a God." Katon Pein stated.

"You bring nothing but destruction in your wake." Doton Pein said.

"I am a true God." Raiton Pein proclaimed. "A God of peace."

"Then I promise you a peaceful demise!" Naga exclaimed.

The eight hydra heads charged forward at the Rinnegan master, who jumped away from the shockwave created. To prevent any harm, Nyrox used his powers of light to transport the group to a safe distance. The Katon Path, despite the disadvantage of blindness, raced ahead towards the nearest hydra head and spun around into the formation of a fire drill. While the hydra tried to eat the flaming coyote, Katon Pein's fire proved to be too much and burned through the head. As the hydra head dropped dead, Katon Pein extinguished his fire. That proved to be the last mistake he would ever make. When the flames had vanished from his body, another hydra head stabbed through the Katon Path's chest with its fang, thus killing him. Naga watched as the black coyote slipped away from his fang and dropped into the fissure below.

"One down, two to go." Naga hissed.

"You are the first to destroy one of my forms." Raiton Pein said emotionlessly. "I allowed you to live thus far through the charity of my forgiveness. But now, I shall no longer prevent myself from killing you."

"You talk big." Naga said. "But do you have the strength to back it up?"

"Let us find out." Raiton Pein said.

While Naga wasn't looking, the Doton Path was able to slip through his defenses and landed on the serpent's back. Doton Pein gripped his fists together and raised them to the sky, forcing the Earth to follow his command. All of a sudden, a large spike of rock ripped into the village and pierced through the hydra's body. And by unclenching his hands, hundreds of stone spikes broke free from the central column and ripped the heads apart. It seemed as if nothing could escape such a fate, but Naga was more resourceful than Pein realized. While four of the heads were slaughtered, three of the hydra's ripped from the main body and acted on their own accord. Of course, Doton Pein didn't realize this until one of the heads stabbed him in the back, killing him almost instantly. The hydra tossed the body down the fissure to join its other half.

"Now that leaves you." Naga hissed, facing the remaining Pein.

"You shall not succeed." Pein stated.

With no options left, Pein thrusted his palms forward and released every volt of electricity in his body at the hydra heads. But the hydra appeared to be immune to the feeble lighting bolts as they bounced off the snake's impossibly rough skin. But then Naga realized something; the attack was too weak compared to Pein's normal attacks. Suddenly, a thundering rumble emerged from the sky, attracting the attention of the hydra. What he found next seemed almost impossible. The sky had been ripped open to reveal a massive phoenix made of pure electricity.

"What is that?" Naga questioned.

"My last technique." Raiton Pein stated, raising his hands to the sky. "Thunder Kaiser!!"

Raiton Pein swung his hands down, commanding the phoenix to follow his example. Acting only on instinct, the remaining hydra heads charged at Pein just as the phoenix dropped on its prey. A massive explosion of energy burst forth from the initial contact, sending many cowering villagers flying across the city. Nyrox and the others remained firm; Tomo had to make sure Nack didn't go flying off. When the blast died down, a cloud of smoke was formed in its place. The group moved closer to inspect the sight when they discovered Naga, in his normal form, and Pein standing across from each other. For a moment, it looked like a stand off until Raiton Pein dropped backwards into the fissure below.

"Looks like its over." Tomo said in relief.

"My lord, are you ok?" Kai asked, kneeling to his master.

"I will be fine." Naga panted. "But that attack drained me of all my energy. I will never be able to access the Hydra Form again."

"Then I guess there is a happy after all." Xenot sniggered; Kai tossed a rock at his masked head. "What'd I do?"

"We no longer have to worry about the threat of Pein." Nyrox said joyously. "The world can feel safe once again."

"You continue to underestimate me."

Suddenly, six black blurs emerged from the fissure below and landed on the roof across from our temporary heroes. Six individual creatures stood in a row, each of them looking equally unhappy. Among them were the three Pein's that were believed to be dead. Raiton Pein stood on the far left, Doton Pein stood on the far right, and Katon Pein stood second from the right.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Nack exclaimed.

The light from the present moon shined down to reveal the identities of the last three Pein's. The one second from the left was a red tiger-shark with blue stripes across his face. He has seven piercings in the form of an X across his face and a single bar through his bottom lip (Suiton Path). The one on the center left was a silver female dingo with a black strip going down her nose. She had four piercings on the side of each eye and two curved bars through each ear (Futon Path). The one on the center right was a dark-green komodo with deep cut across the eyes. He had five pointed piercings circling the top of his head and two studs on each side of his face (Inyo Path: Yin-Yang Element). All Pein's wore the same Akatsuki cloak and Rain Village headband. But what scared them the most was witnessing the birth of six Rinnegan users.

"It's time for you to witness the Six Paths of Pein." Pein stated.

The ultimate test for survival had begun.

* * *

**The Rinnegan Master reveals his final secret. What new powers lie within these new bodies? Will our unlikely group of heroes be able to obtain victory? Or will the Six Paths of Pein prove to be too powerful? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	72. Pein and Suffering, Part 4

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Naruto © Kishimoto  
Tomo © Kiba Sniper

Chapter Seventy-One: Pein and Suffering, Part 4

Life was full of twists for Nyrox and his temporary allies. What they had once thought was a victory turned out to be false. Pein has proven to be more of a match compared to anything they had witnessed before. This rare creature had not one, but six individual forms. And to make things worse, he was in possession of the ultimate dojutsu: The Rinnegan. As the parted skies began to form together from the previous attack, the opposite forces stared in terror of The Six Paths of Pein.

"Six..." Nack muttered shaking. "Now there are six of them."

"Eh, it's not really that bad." Xenot said.

"Not that bad!!" Nack screamed. "We could barely beat one of them! How are we supposed to take on six?!"

"Pein may have six bodies, but there are still the three previous ones to remember." Naga noted; staring between the Doton, Katon, and Raiton Paths. "I was able to kill all three of them at once, but they somehow survived."

"One of the other three must have some resurrection ability." Tomo suggested, looking at the Heartless serpent. "Do you think it would be possible to perform the Hydra Technique again?"

"That seems highly unlikely." Kai stated coldly. "Lord Naga was severally drained of his chaos energy by performing that technique. No doubt, he will never be able to perform chaos techniques again."

"So in other words, he's useless." Xenot commented; Kai tossed a dagger, but Xenot dodged. "Hah! Ya missed!"

"Be on guard, my comrades." Nyrox said, keeping his eyes locked on the six paths. "We may have lost most of our prowess during this battle, but we still hold an advantage." His partners looked at the aged master like he was crazy. "Do not forget, Pein has also drained nearly half his power. The earth, fire, and lightning bodies are still recovering."

"So then there's still a chance." Tomo smirked.

"If that is what you believe."

The brave warriors nearly jumped when they realized Pein had broken through their ranks. Futon Pein appeared in the center of the group without them realizing it. The female dingo swiftly held out her hand to call forth a large shuriken of pure wind. Tomo had learned from Kakuzu that wind element techniques were considered the most lethal; able to cut sharper than blades. The group barely had time to jump away before the Futon Path could swing her elemental weapon around. While Kai zipped away from the group, he was barely able to notice a shadow overlapping his. He looked up and dived away before Suiton Pein released a heavy torrent of water from his jaws, crushing the platform below.

"I believe we've just found out what these two can do." Kai said, drawing his three-pronged dagger. He stood back-to-back with Xenot, who was warding off a raging whirlwind with his signature blade. "Why do I always end up meeting with you?"

"I don't know." Xenot shrugged. "Maybe it's destiny?"

"Destiny has a sick sense of humor." Kai stated.

"Stand strong, young ones!" Nyrox shouted.

All of a sudden, the aged fox dropped from the sky with a pure white scimitar in his hands. He landed in front of the Futon Path swung across the female dingo's chest. Unfortunately, moments before he could hit, Futon Pein was cloaked in a sphere of wind and vanished. At the same time, Naga slithered his way across the rooftop and constricted the Suiton Path with his body. He quickly noticed the Suiton Path becoming weaker the longer he stood still. Naga exposed his fangs, ready to kill until the Futon Path appeared and gripped him by his neck. The Heartless serpent released his hold and slithered his way back to his team. A moment later, the original three paths joined at the newcomer's side.

"Guys, they're back." Nack whined.

"We've got nothing to worry about." Tomo smirked, pointing to Nyrox. "Like fox-brat said, they are completely useless."

Unfortunately, that fact was proven false. The Doton Path stepped out of the line, clapping his hands together. Suddenly, he slammed down his palms and created a fracture in the rooftop. The group of six jumped away, splitting into two teams. This made it easier for Pein. The Katon Path formed a series of hand signs and released a massive fireball from his maw. At the same time, the Raiton Path unleashed a surge of electricity from his palm. Thankfully, Nyrox summoned a wall of ice to black the fireball and Kai used his yellow dagger to absorb the lightning. The six rivals jumped back and watched Pein's bodies with utmost confusion.

"I thought you said they were drained of their powers." Naga hissed angrily to Nyrox.

"I...I don't understand." Nyrox said shockingly. "They couldn't possibly have any energy left to fight. After being killed, they should have lost a tremendous amount of power."

"The first three represented fire, lightning, and earth." Kai noted, counting between the six Pein's. "The next two represented water and wind."

"But what about the last one?" Nack asked. At that moment, Inyo Pein jumped from his position, landing behind his fellow paths. "What's the last element?"

"I thought there were only five." Tomo said, trying to remember her lessons with Kakuzu.

"Not many know of the sixth element." Nyrox said wisely. "It is a gifted element that very few warriors are able to control. In fact, it is so rare that not even Master Xehanort and I could learn to control it. The element of balance."

"Balance?" Xenot repeated.

"It is better known as the nature of Yin-Yang." Nyrox explained. "The first one to discover this power was the Sage of Six Paths, who not only began to ninja world, but also created the first form of combat. Legend has it that he existed before the ancient echidna tribes."

"Then the Rinnegan was the true founder of Chaos." Naga said.

"No, Chaos existed long before." Nyrox shook, watching the Inyo Path intently. "The Sage was just the first to learn how to control it. And now that knowledge exists within Pein."

"Why does the world hate us?" Xenot moaned.

Ignoring Xenot's complaining; Tomo carefully watched the Inyo Path's movements. She noticed that as the komodo moved from each path, his hands were glowing with a white aura. She also noticed that after being touched by the Inyo Path, each Pein was suddenly energized. She had discovered their secret.

"I got it!" Tomo exclaimed, alerting her teammates. "I can almost guarantee you that the last body holds the element of balance. Haven't you noticed that the komodo is the only one that hasn't attacked yet?"

"You're point being?" Kai questioned.

"I think the reason he doesn't fight is because he can't." Tomo explained. "I've noticed that when it touches the other Pein's, they have a sudden rush of energy. I'll be you anything that he's the one that regenerated the other Pein's lacking energy."

"That would explain why they can suddenly fight again." Naga hissed. "The sixth body must have a limitless amount of energy and is spreading it between the six paths. It must also have the ability to resurrect the other bodies as well, making him nearly immortal. As long as the komodo remains alive, Pein can never be stopped."

"Then all we need to do is to get rid of him." Nack grinned.

"Easier said than done." Xenot commented. "I've fought people like him before." He suddenly remembered his ultimate defeat at the hands of Sephiroth. "They never leave themselves open unless they have a way to counteract."

"All we need is one straight shot." Nyrox said, grinning lightly. "And I think I have an idea."

Once the Inyo Path had finished replenishing its counterparts, the five paths charged ahead to continue the battle. Nyrox could barely finish explaining his plan before the five Pein's were already upon them. Raiton Pein charged his palm with an electrical current that resembled much like Metal's signature technique. Fortunately enough, Kai was the one to face him and used his elemental dagger to absorb it. Katon Pein gathered a current of flames in his throat and released it through his mouth. Nack barely rolled away and was able to shoot at Katon Pein's shoulder from a distance. Doton Pein slammed his fist into the rooftop, summoning small fragments of rock to strike. Naga's expandable body was enough to allow him to avoid the attack ease.

"How much longer must we keep this up?!" Naga questioned, dodging an avalanche of rocks.

"Only until we can provide enough time to attack." Nyrox stated.

"Yep, we're going to die." Xenot said hopelessly.

"Xenot!!" Nyrox snapped.

"Just saying." Xenot shrugged

While he wasn't looking, the Suiton Path charged at the masked warrior and constricted him from the use of his arms. Suddenly, Xenot was beginning dehydrated. He may have been a shadow, but Xenot was still a living being. To escape from his torture, Xenot swiftly swung his legs up and slammed his foot into the shark's face. Once free, Xenot summoned his signature sword and charged ahead. Meanwhile, Nyrox was having his own problems with the Futon Path. Because of his control over the wind, Futon Pein could easily transport herself through the use of the very air. And every opportunity she could get, Futon Pein would strike at Nyrox with small blades of air. Due to old age and struggling with heart pains, Nyrox couldn't bare to fight for long. Having no options left, Nyrox protected himself in a dome of rock. This was fortunate since the wind could only scratch the surface, but not cut it.

"_He has me pinned down._" Nyrox groaned, clutching he heart. "_And my ambitions are finally catching up to me. Oh, how I rue the day King and I went against nature. The only thing I can do is hope for the plan to work._"

As the battle raged on, Inyo Pein watched from a safe distance.

"I have never fought a more experienced group in my life." Inyo Pein whispered. "It almost makes me wish that I would not have to kill them. They would have been great attributes in Akatsuki."

"Sorry, not interested!"

His eyes wide in shock, Inyo Pein glanced down towards his feet as the structure below him crumbled away. All of a sudden, Tomo thrusted upwards with her fist held high. She was aiming for his chin, but the komodo managed to flip backwards before she could nail him. This was her chance. While still in midair, Tomo performed a familiar set of hand signs.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!" Tomo called.

Calling forth a great flame from her chest, the chameleon kunoichi exhausted her energy into an enormous fireball. Inyo Pein had just landed before realizing that Tomo had plotted this move. The chameleon smirked, knowing there was no way for Pein to survive. She was wrong. The Inyo Path thrusted his right palm directly into the fireball and was able to absorb it into his body. Tomo landed, her expression filled with shock.

"B-but how?" Tomo said fearfully. "That's just not possible."

"You should know from experience." Inyo Pein said, holding his left palm open. "Nothing is impossible for Akatsuki. Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Suddenly, Tomo's very own attack was released from Pein's hand and thrusted back at its creator. In a desperate attempt to guard, Tomo unsheathed her sword and used it as a shield. The sword, being energized with her remaining energy, was able to repel most of its power, but not all of it. The fireball exploded, sending Tomo flying backwards across the rooftops. Nack pulled away from his fight with Katon Pein and kneeled next to his partner.

"Hey, are you ok?" Nack asked worried.

"What do you think?!" Tomo snapped. "I was just beaten by my own attack!"

"That is not the worst of it." Inyo Pein stated, closing his eyes to focus. "You shall learn true pain." When Pein opened his eyes, they had altered from their original appearance. His eyes were red with a pinwheel-like pupil formed in the center. Tomo was now confronted with her worst fear: Mangekyo Sharingan. "AMATERASU!!"

Before Tomo or Nack could even take the chance to run, a jet-black flame had ignited from the retina of Pein's eyes. The intensity was greater than the sun and the force behind it was enough to crush the building beneath it. Nyrox and his allies jumped to the nearest building to save themselves, but noticed that the Dark Ruler's were not with them. It was Naga who pointed out their location, much to Nyrox and Xenot's despair. The two unfortunate souls were trapped and consumed by the eclipsing flames. It started to rain, but the flames lived on.

"The Amaterasu..." Naga said lowly. "The inextinguishable flames from hell. It is said that the Amaterasu will burn everything in its path until it has devoured its target. The flames can burn for seven days and seven nights."

"I had heard about it, but I never realized how terrible it was." Xenot said mournfully. "For such a technique to exist seems so inhumane. What kind of monster would unleash such a despicable technique?"

"A cold-hearted demon such as Pein." Kai said emotionlessly. "He is even more powerful than I had imagined."

"Now you have come to understand the truth." The group of four turned swiftly on their feet and found The Six Paths of Pein standing on separate parts of a tower. Inyo Pein's eyes returned to normal. "Only through pain of loss can this world learn to grown."

"This has to stop, Pein!" Nyrox shouted; a tear rolled down his check. "How can you just take innocent lives like that?!"

"I had once believed in the existence of innocence." Pein said coldly. "But that was before I realized what innocence truly was. It is an illusion to cloud our thoughts and judgment. Once you see through the deception, you can reach new levels of power."

"Oh, shut it!" Naga snapped. "And I tired of your rambling. I will kill you, even if I have to rip apart my own body."

"Do you think you can do it?" Pein questioned. "Can you match the powers of a God?"

"That's what I'm hoping of finding out." Naga hissed.

Without warning, Naga charged ahead with Kai following. Despite their odds, Nyrox and Xenot rushed forward with them; to commemorate their fallen comrades. The Six Paths watched their opponents run towards their doom before five of the paths jumped down to face them. Naga found himself faced with Katon Pein; a smirk of victory on his expression. The flaming coyote ignited his fists and thrusted them at a rapid pace towards the Heartless snake. Fortunately enough, Naga was able to stretch himself out of the way and used his neck to tie the coyote down.

"Is this the true strength of a God?" Naga sniggered.

"This is only the beginning." Katon Pein proclaimed.

Meanwhile, Kai was facing against Futon Pein. Both warriors were on equal ground since both of them could move with the wind. Futon Pein constantly attacked with blades forged from wind, only to have them stopped by Kai's white daggers. While this was going on, Xenot skidded backwards away from Doton Pein. The earth bear stomped his foot into the ground, forcing a boulder of concrete into the air. The Doton Path smashed his fist into the stone, creating a shower of blistering rocks. Fortunately, Xenot forged a black shield and was able to block the onslaught. A moment later, Xenot and Kai was back-to-back again.

"And with this?" Kai sighed. "I am starting to think that destiny has a vendetta against me."

"Sucks to be you." Xenot sniggered.

As this want on, Nyrox was pushing against the continuous battle against Suiton Pein. Of all the paths, Suiton was one of the more vicious creatures. The water shark continually snapped at Nyrox's throat, barely missing by a thread. But Nyrox's focus was more bent on the komodo at the top of the tower. With a plan swiftly formulated in his head, Nyrox called a cloud of light particle around his hands and tossed it to the Suiton Path. A moment later, the light particles formed into yellow darts, pinning the shark to the wall. With agile speed, Nyrox skipped across the tower platforms until he reached the Inyo Path. The aged master summoned a yellow chain in his hand and swung it around to hold Inyo Pein in his place.

"You have managed to trap me." Inyo Pein stated.

"I realized something during your battle with Tomo." Nyrox sneered, pulling the chain to tighten its grip. "Your current body can only absorb elemental and Chaos attacks. But against physical attacks, you are defenseless."

"You have defeated my ultimate path, but that does not mean you have won." Inyo Pein said indifferent.

"I will only ask this one last time." Nyrox said, calling a cluster of light particles to his palm. "Surrender your ambition."

Pein said nothing as he watched the light particles beginning to form. They took the shape of a katana made from pure white steel and the handle colored bright gold. It looked much like the blade he created for Howl, only with more force behind it. Pein closed his eyes before answering.

"No."

"Then you leave me no choice." Nyrox said lowly.

Pulling his weapon back, Nyrox swung the katana with all his strength. But just before the blade could pierce his body, something jumped in front to take the hit. The Raiton Path willingly took a stab to the chest and died in Nyrox's hands.

"_He sacrificed his own body to protect himself._" Nyrox thought nervously. "_This man is truly ruthless._"

"AMATERASU!!"

Upon hearing the sound, Nyrox shot his head up to gaze at the devious komodo. His eyes once again took the form of the Mangekyo Sharingan and released the black flames of hell. Nyrox jumped back, carrying the Raiton Path, and dived back to the roof with the Amaterasu following. The others never noticed the Amaterasu's appearance until the other Pein suddenly skipped away.

"Maybe they gave up." Xenot said hopefully.

"Or maybe they didn't wish to be turned to ashes." Kai stated, pointing towards the black flames.

"_Ugh, at this rate, we won't survive._" Nyrox thought, falling closer to his allies. "_There's only one chance of escape._"

Calling up every trace of energy in his body, Nyrox clapped his hands together as a green aura surrounded his body. As the hellish flames drew closer, Nyrox landed and enveloped his allies in a flash of green light. The five Pein's watched intently as the Amaterasu ate away at the building below them. After a few moments of peace, a whirlwind of paper sheets twirled beside the Rinnegan Master. Within seconds, the papers sheets bent around to form the head of Konan.

"Did you succeed, Pein?" Konan asked.

"No, they got away." Pein replied.

"Should I follow?" Konan suggested.

"That will not be necessary." Pein stated; four of the five Pein's began to wander back to the Burial Tower. "They will not return if they value their lives." He slowly walked away. "Meanwhile, I must meet with our benefactor."

"Pein, I have also received some important news." Konan interrupted. "As leader of Amegakure, you have been invited to witness the Ultimate World Tournament." Pein did not show the slightest interest. "According to reports, it will be the largest gathering of the worlds most powerful warriors. This could be seen as an opportunity.

Pein still remained silent, staring into the parting cloud. After several moments of uneasy silence, he gave his reply.

"Prepare for departure."

* * *

The scene shifts to the outrageous mountains of the Himalayas. In a flash of green light, Nyrox and Xenot appeared at the foot of the closest mountain. Xenot groaned, shaking his head lightly, before turning his head to his master. The young warrior had never seen his master so tired before in his life. He would never have dreamed it possible.

"Master Nyrox..." Xenot muttered softly as Nyrox slowly sat up. "Are you ok?"

"I...will be fine." Nyrox panted. "I think...I used...too much...energy."

He raised his right hand, which earned a surprised gasp from his apprentice. Nyrox's hand had become dull and withered. It was as if time was catching up to him. Nyrox slowly concentrated his energy into his palm to restore it to its former glory.

"We should find a place to rest." Xenot said. He grabbed his master's arm and placed it over his shoulder until he noticed they were two heads short. "Hey, what happened to Naga and the blue-haired wonder?"

"Naga most likely forced himself to a new location." Nyrox groaned. "But why?"

* * *

The scene alters to a far-away island in the middle of the Bahamas. Seagulls were gathering around the sandy beach in expectations until they were frightened by a sudden splash. Gasping for air, Naga pushed himself onto the shore and kneeling in the sand. Kai weakly followed his master's footsteps, but only going knee-deep in the ocean near the shore.

"My lord, why did you force the Chaos Control?" Kai questioned curiously.

"We needed to get away from Nyrox before I could arouse any suspicion." Naga stated.

"And this?" Kai asked, pulling the corpse of the Raiton Path out of the water.

"Pein has shown me an opportunity that I could not pass up." Naga explained. "While Orochimaru has his own plan for immortality, Pein has truly defined the concept." He reached over and grabbed the dead lion. "After I study this body, I may discover the true secrets of immortality. And once I do, I shall be Sonic the Hedgehog for all of eternity!"

* * *

The scene changes to the dreary domain of the Dark Rulers. We find ourselves in the throne room of Nazo, who was still recovering from his battle against Super Shadic. He was staring at his handcrafted board, trying with every hope to find Black Doom. But so far, his search proved futile. He was suddenly interrupted once a portal of darkness appeared before him. As the figure slowly stepped out, Nazo smirked.

"I trust everything is in order...Pein." Nazo said amusingly.

"I was nearly in completion of my mission until I was interrupted." Pein, in his regular body, said.

He turned his head and scowled at the figures appearing behind him. Tomo and Nack slowly walked out of the darkness, grinning sheepishly. It would appear that Pein was working along with them the entire time, falsely killing them to grant an escape route. Slowly, yet painfully, Nazo staggered to his feet.

"Let us discuss this in private, Pein." Nazo requested.

"As you wish, my lord." Pein nodded.

The dark leaders walked past Tomo and Nack, making their way through the massive structure of the castle. After walking for what seemed like miles and stopping for Nazo to rest, both masters found themselves at the highest roof of the castle. Pein stared into the bleak sky above. It made him feel depressed; he felt more comfortable watching the rain clouds.

"What have you discovered, my faithful spy." Nazo questioned.

"I have learned a great deal through my many dealings with Black Doom." Pein reported. "He has revealed to me that he is no longer occupying the planet. He appears to be hiding somewhere in the outer rims of space."

"That would explain why I have not been able to find him." Nazo sniggered. "He is more cleaver than I expected."

"I will you do now, my lord?" Pein questioned.

"I can do nothing at the moment." Nazo stated. "According to Shira, I will be unable to leave this dimension for the next two months. In the mean time, I have a request for you, Pein."

"What is it, my lord?" Pein questioned.

"I have been informed by my future son." Nazo said sorrowfully. "Sooner or later, I will die and pass my legacy on to him. But before he can succeed me, I need someone to occupy the position as God of Darkness until he is ready to take the throne." He turned to the Rinnegan Master. "I wish for you to take my place."

"M-my lord..." Pein said in genuine shock. "Why me?"

"You are the only one capable of controlling my power." Nazo reasoned. "You have mastered the Rinnegan, which is the only thing that can allow you to fully understand the limitations of my powers. Now, I wish for you to kneel before me, Pein." The Akatsuki Leader nodded and followed his master's orders. The God of Darkness placed his hand on the man's head. "The day that I die, you will inherit my powers and lead my army of darkness. Do you accept these terms, Pein?"

"I do, my lord." Pein accepted.

Once he had uttered those words, a bleak aura of darkness appeared around Nazo's hand and forced its way into Pein's skull. For a moment, Pein's eyes were green and slitted before returning to the Rinnegan.

"Now rise and become anew." Nazo commanded. "Live forever as Pein, Leader of the Dark Siege!"

* * *

**A new legacy continues from the old. What shall become of Nyrox and his apprentice? Will Naga discover the secrets of immortality? And what new dangers lurk amongst Pein and the 'Dark Seige'? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	73. A Distant Memory

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Chapter Seventy-Three: A Distant Memory

The scene opens to a hazardous mountain region in the northern regions of China. Only a week had passed by since the threat of Dark Gaia was extinguished and Black Doom departed from the galaxy. But while few of the heroes found it hard to believe Sonic's story, they found it even harder to believe that he and Nazo worked together. But at the moment, the Gaia's were no longer of any importance. Shadow the Hedgehog was racing through the charred forest of Du Weldenvarden with his girlfriend, Kumori the Hedgehog.

"And Eggman's base is supposed to be way out here?" Kumori questioned suspiciously. "I though the G.U.N. reports said that Eggman's carrier was last seen somewhere in Mongolia."

"The Mongolian border isn't exactly far from here." Shadow replied agitatedly. "According to our anonymous tip-off, Eggman placed a decoy station in Mongolia to throw off his trail. He's hiding somewhere in the heart of this forest."

"But how could he know that Eggman made a decoy?" Kumori grimaced. "And what about the dragons? The villagers said that their guardian was killed by a giant purple dragon about a week ago. That was at the same time as the Dark Gaia incident."

"A purple dragon?" Shadow repeated tauntingly. "Don't tell me you believe in that fairy tale, too. For one thing, there is no such thing as a dragon. And even if there was one, would you really believe one to be purple?"

"But what about what Sonic said?" Kumori asked hopefully. "He said he met a dragon before..."

"Sonic also said he could turn into a werewolf at night." Shadow interjected rudely. "There is no such thing as magic, dragons, spirits, mystical gods, and werewolves. Those are all just tall tales of fiction."

Kumori gave a loud groan at her lover's unyielding personality. As to be expected, Shadow only believed in science and logic and openly refused to acknowledge the existence of magic. He even made numerous arguments to explain the logical reason for the Chaos Emerald and his revival, even when the real answers were obvious. But Kumori was the exact opposite of him. She believed that fate and destiny existed and believed magic was the source of all life in the universe. Naturally, this led to quite a few spats between the couple until they finally agreed to follow their own belief. But as of now, the dark hedgehogs finally breeched the forest edge and found the intended target.

"Oh my, such frightening dragons." Shadow said sarcastically.

"Shut up." Kumori mumbled.

Breaking free of the tangled thorns, Shadow and Kumori found themselves in a circler platform made of pure white stone. A glistening lake took its place in the center of the area with a flock of water lilies forming circles around a tiny green island. At the end of the white platform, two statues of colored stone resembling dragons took their place in front of an ancient temple. The dragon on the left was blue with a face of sincerity, but the dragon on the right was red stone and showed pure ferocity. While Kumori marveled at the untouched sanctuary, Shadow made his way to the temple doors.

"Hmm..." Shadow hummed, tracing his hands across the wall. "It seems to be locked from the outside, but I don't see why Eggman would leave an opportunity for someone to enter untouched."

"You know, this place reminds me of the temple from Sonic's story." Kumori commented, looking very eager at the thought. "Hey, maybe we'll finally get to meet those baby dragons he told us about. I would definitely love to see Spyro."

Sonic was never good at keeping secrets.

"Let's focus on reality for a moment." Shadow sighed irritably. "Our only priority should be..."

With his acute sense of hearing, the Ultimate Life-Form caught something crackling through the dead trees. Kumori seemed to have caught on as well when he noticed her hands clutched hard in anticipation. A long period of silence follow for what seemed like hours, only to be broken by a soft snap of a twig. Suddenly the dark twins jumped into the air as a storm of yellow knives shot through the tress and into the ground where they once stood. But as they landed on the heads of the dragon statues, Shadow instantly recognize this as a mistake. The yellow daggers imbedded in the stone platform ignited with electricity, creating a web flow through the concrete. Not even Shadow could move faster than lightning and was struck blindly through the stone before falling to the ground – Kumori joined him shortly.

"Oh...I know I'm going to feel that tomorrow." Kumori groaned.

"What the hell happened?" Shadow snarled, shaking off his loose paralysis. "When I get my hand on..."

"You'll do what?" A soft, cool voice interjected. "Strike me down with your Chaos Energy?"

Staggering to his feet, the dark hedgehog glared at his attacker as he emerged from behind one of the black trees. For one quick moment, Shadow thought he was meeting with Rai after their previous encounter. But as he did a double-take, he remembered that Rai's hair was spiked and flaming, while his attacker had long ocean-blue hair reaching down his back. Kai was twisting a crimson-red dagger between his hands, unconsciously cutting himself. As he did so, Shadow noticed that no blood escaped from his wounds – he was not human.

"Hey!" Kumori snapped furiously. "Who the hell do you think you are?!"

"It's strange, isn't it?" Kai said monotonously, watching the blade cut his skin interestingly. "The only way one can learn that they truly exist is by the pain they feel. By immunity to pain only proves my nonexistence."

"Uh...hello?" Kumori called, snapping her finger to gain attention. "We're kinda in the middle of something here. So, whatever you have against us, you'll just have to wait until we take down Eggman." She cracked her knuckles. "Then I will deal with you personally."

"Eggman never resided within this area." Kai stated coldly.

"What?" Shadow questioned.

"It was I who sent that false piece of information." Kai explained. "It was I that specifically requested you to search the temple sanctuary, Shadow the Hedgehog. And after so many years of waiting, we finally meet."

"Why are you interested in me?" Shadow glowered.

"I have heard so many stories of you from my grandmother." Kai stated as he drew a handful of daggers from his pouch. "But I have a hard time believing any of them until I witness it for myself. I challenge you, Shadow the Hedgehog."

"Listen here, pal." Kumori nagged angrily. "Just because you caught us with that cheap shot doesn't mean..."

Before she could bring herself to finish, Kai appeared before her and kicked at her neck in barely a few seconds. Any normal person would have died from such a strike, but Kumori was just sent flying backwards into the lake.

"Kumori!" Shadow exclaimed fearfully.

It was a well known fact that Kumori shared the same weakness as Sonic: both hedgehogs couldn't swim. As the Ultimate Life-Form struggled to regain his footing, he was slashed across the back by the blue-haired human. Shadow grunted in pain, but did not allow himself to be distracted by anything other than Kumori. Even as Kai tossed two of his daggers into the hedgehog's spine, that did not stop him from jumping headfirst into the water. He was fortunate that Kumori's failed attempts to swim were keeping her up long enough to prevent her from falling into the unseen bottom below. Shadow grabbed his lover by the wrist, where he pulled her through the surface of the reflective waters and carried her back onto the platform.

"Kumori..." Shadow panted, surprisingly tired. "Are you...all right?"

"Yeah, I'm ok." Kumori stated cheerfully. "It'll take a lot more than – Shadow, you're hurt!"

"It's...It's nothing." Shadow proclaimed, wincing slightly.

"There's something not right about these." Kumori said suspiciously. Apologizing beforehand, she ripped the twin daggers from Shadow's spine, noticing a green liquid escaping the edges. "This looks a lot like..."

"Basilisk venom." Kai answered coldly. "I was fortunate to come across a Basilisk fang floating in the waters near Eat Island."

"Ugh...It looks like..." Shadow grunted painfully. "Hybrid...wasn't thorough...enough."

"Under normal conditions, the venom would kill a mortal within seconds." Kai explained. "But because of your unusual existence, your life will be prolonged, but you will suffer greatly. You must be grateful to Black Doom."

"How did you..." Shadow struggled, but couldn't finish.

"My grandmother knew things about you no one else knew." Kai proclaimed degradedly. "For as long as I've known her, she has always talked highly of your and Kumori. The admiration was sickening, which is why I never stayed for too long."

"I don't really give a damn about you grandma!" Kumori screamed furiously, jumping after the heartless human. "You better heal my Shadow right now!"

Kai made no remake about her instinctive nature, but jumped backwards as Kumori brought down her foot over him. The vile Nobody flipped backward in midair onto a dead tree branch, which unexpectedly gave out under his weight. Upon that consequence, the raven-haired hedgehog jumped at Kai and landed a serious blow to his chest. The heartless warrior was shot through the forest, smashing his way through five trees before colliding with an uprooted trunk. Though his head was pounding terribly, Kai could not feel the pain of the attack – he had nothing to feel with. Ignoring this fact, Kai pulled out twin silver daggers and crossed them in front to block a hailing kick from the dark beauty. At this opportune moment, Kai grabbed the hedgehog by her ankle and twisted it around. Kumori cried out from the sudden pain and fell backward without anything to keep her standing. Unfortunately, before she could even touch the ground, Kai kicked her in the stomach to send the hedgehog twisting back to the platform.

"Kumori..." Shadow strained pleadingly. "Are you....are you....ok?"

"I'm fine." Kumori answered, shaking her head lightly. "I just need to..."

"Get down!!" Shadow yelled suddenly.

"Huh?" Kumori replied confused.

And before she could recognize his warning, a storm of multi-color daggers flew past the wilted tress into Kumori's back. For each color of the dagger, a different torture was executed. Red daggers were for burning, white daggers for freezing, yellow for shocking, and so on. With so much power concentrated into one place, it was a miracle that she did not die on the spot. Though his vision was blurred, Shadow could see the faint outline of his beloved falling forward onto the white stone, hopefully unconscious. Emerging from the withered forest, Kai kneeled to his prey with a silver dagger in hand.

"Wait..." Shadow croaked. Even Kai could not hide his amazement as the dark hedgehog pushed himself to his knees. "Please...leave Kumori out of this. It's me you want, isn't it?"

"My original intention was to test your limits." Kai stated stoically "But it would appear that the limitations of your power have dwindled greatly compared to my grandmother's stories. You have become soft after fifty years of exile."

"Then why?" Shadow questioned.

"Because I want to see the true power of the Ultimate Life-Form." Kai said impassively, drawing the dagger close to Kumori's throat. "And to do so, I must remove the one object blocking that power."

"Don't – you – touch her!!" Shadow roared venomously.

Much to Kai's astonishment, a vicious red glow began to rise from the ebony hedgehog, darken their environment. And by the bloody light reflecting off the statues, Kai felt that the dragons might have been alive once more. Out of the corner of his eyes, the blue-haired Nobody noticed a trickle green liquid dripping from his right leg – the Basilisk venom had been pushed out.

"That's interesting." Kai commented.

"You haven't seen anything yet." Shadow grinned menacingly. "**Chaos Boost!!**"

To those who don't remember, Chaos Boost is a special trait made by Shadow to increase one's abilities by five times. This also included speed, which allowed him to move just as fast as Sonic. With a wicked grin on his face, the scarlet hedgehog ripped across the platform and thrusted his fist at Kai, shattering the ground around them. But as the effects of Chaos Boost died down, it took a quick moment for Shadow to realize that he had missed Kai. The silent assassin in question was standing at the edge of the forest, looking relatively unconcerned of the event that took place.

"You're pretty fast." Shadow acknowledged. "I don't think anyone has escaped Chaos Boost since Sonic."

"He and I are closer than you may realize." Kai informed mysteriously. "Then again, we are not so different ourselves."

"Look who's talking." Shadow glared, pulling back his hand. "**Chaos Spear!**"

Upon his command, several arrows of yellow energy formed from the air, striking Kai with surprising speed. The blue-haired Nobody seemed to have been expecting the attack as he jumped backwards before the words even left Shadow's lip. But as he landed, the smoke create by the colliding attacks provided the perfect camouflage for Shadow to release a secret swarm of spears. Quick on the reaction, the heartless assassin pulled a three-pronged dagger from his pouch, which he used to absorb the shots. But as amazing as it was to believe, this was also a part of Shadow's plan. Under the cover of the Chaos Spears, the Ultimate Life-Form jabbed his fist into Kai's torso, sending the nonexistent fighter flailing backwards. Because of Shadow's superior strength, Kai was not only forced through the dark roots of the forest, but also smashed through a collection of stones in his path. Perhaps by instinct, the Nobody warrior sat up and groaned in false pain. And before he could return himself back to the battle, Shadow appeared over him and grabbed the man by his collar.

"Hmm...so this is the power of the Ultimate Life-Form." Kai said monotonously. "I have to say that I am not impressed."

"You will remain silent." Shadow growled, pushing Kai into the rocks. "If you dare touch a single hair on Kumori ever again, I swear that I will rip out your heart and burn it to ash."

"Unfortunately, that would be impossible." Kai chuckled amusingly. "But there was one thing my grandmother was right about you: you care too much for the safety of others. That will lead you to your downfall."

"Just who exactly has been telling you this?" Shadow questioned seriously.

"You mean you don't know?" Kai said superiorly. "My grandmother is Maria Robotnik, Granddaughter of Gerald Robotnik, also known as your creator."

"You're lying!" Shadow roared angrily. He had tried to forget Maria and Gerald since the Black Arms invasion and hearing her name from an unknown killer did not help. "I was Maria die on the ARK fifty years ago! How could she survive?!"

It's true." Kai acknowledged. "The real Maria died fifty years ago and that drove Prof. Gerald to the brink of insanity. Desperate to bring his granddaughter back, Prof. Gerald used the plans from the Black Arms to create a perfect clone from a lock of her hair. Unfortunately, the clone also inherited her thoughts and personality."

"What do you mean?" Shadow questioned, unintentionally releasing his grip.

"Maria was mortified of her existence." Kai explained. "She was the replica of someone who was dead. To go against nature is considered the most horrible crime possible. And so, she abandoned her grandfather and spent the rest of her life passing off as another face. And since no one besides the people aboard the ARK knew Maria existed, she was able to hide away in peace."

"I can't believe it." Shadow whispered softly. "Al this time...I thought she was dead."

"There are times when one forgets their heart." Kai said sagely. "And sometimes, it's for the best."

Shadow was so lost in his own thoughts that he failed to notice Kai reaching for something in his jacket. The Nobody assassin emerged with a small black sphere, which erupted into a flash of light when smacked against the ground. The Ultimate Life-Form guarded his eye momentarily and looked back – Kai had gone missing. Shadow did not following him and instead went back to console Kumori. Their lead had been a dead end and the day had been wasted. But still....there was one good thing that had occurred today. Meanwhile, Naga the Snake was patiently sitting on a large rock, look very displeased. A moment later, Kai dropped from the branches of the trees, slowly kneeling to his master.

"Did you enjoy your trip, Kai?" Naga hissed venomously.

"My lord..." Kai answered hesitantly. "I didn't realize that you had followed."

"Nothing escapes my gaze, Kai." Naga glared. He pushed himself to his feet and began walking in a circle around his subordinate. "Leaving the base without permission, risking exposure to our existence, and going against my orders by confronting the hedgehog. For such disrespect, I should kill you right now."

"Forgive me, my lord." Kai pleaded. "I promise, it won't happen again."

"I can assure you that it won't." Naga snapped angrily. "You will remain in you room and only leave under my command. Any attempt to defy me will result in cruel punishment."

"I understand, my lord." Kai nodded.

"But it wasn't a complete loss." Naga grinned, much to Kai's confusion. "One benefit came out of this."

As Kai returned to his feet, Naga went back to the rock and pulled out something hidden behind it. Held within the grasp of the snake's hands was the severed head of an emerald dragon.

* * *

The scene changes to a coastal region somewhere outside Station Square the next day. After returning to heal Kumori's wounds, the twin experiments began planning for their meeting. After much research, they arrived on a small beach house nestled near one of the most renowned Chaos Gardens. The Ultimate Life-Form looked nervous as he raised his hand to the door, but did not knock.

"Come on, Shadow." Kumori said encouragingly. "You can do it."

"I'm not sure about this?" Shadow said nervously.

"Come on, you've faced Nazo, remember." Kumori stated pointedly. "If you can do that, then this should be a breeze."

While looking uncertain, the ebony hedgehog rapped his knuckles of the door, just enough for anyone inside to hear. After waiting for a minute, they door creaked open with an elderly woman standing at the threshold. Despite the grey hair wrapped in a bun and the minute glasses, there was no mistaking who this woman was. As she adjusted her glasses for a better look, the elderly woman began to smile down upon the creatures.

"Oh, it's been such a long time, Shadow." The woman said happily. "It is also great to see you as well, Kumori."

"Maria..." Shadow whispered softly. Failing to resist, a lone tear escaped from the corner of his eyes.

"My, you two haven't aged a day." Maria laughed.

"And you..." Kumori said, trying to look for the right word. "Well, you've changed a lot."

"Have I?" Maria asked wisely. "Or have I just improved?"

"So much has changed, Maria." Shadow said, smiling for the first time in a long while. "There is so much we have to tell you."

"And I have some stories of my own." Maria nodded pleasingly, stepping aside to let them him. "Why don't we talk about it over some coffee and cherry pie. I just finished baking it."

"You always knew my weakness, Maria." Kumori said hungrily as she licked her lips.

As Kumori rampaged into the kitchen, Shadow began to wonder who she loved more: him or cherry pie. Maria seemed to wonder the same thing and laughed with her oldest friend. After so many years, Shadow had lived on in life with an empty hole in his heart. And now, that void was filled.

**

* * *

**

Those we love always return, just not in the way we expect them. What does Naga have planned for the deceased dragon? Will Kai seek out Shadow once more? And what was the connection he meant between him and Sonic? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!

**Please, read and review.**


	74. Say Uncle

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Damien © SlashBandicoot43  
Genesis © Blue Kaous  
Lucario © Nintendo

Chapter Seventy-Four: Say Uncle

The heart opens to the capital of world trade and birth home to Sonic the Hedgehog: South Island. With the exception of the Nightmare invasion and Orion's assault, the island was normally a place where one could live without troubles. Unfortunately, the same could not be said about the castle. Upon returning from the secondary island, Phoenix Island, Lucario discovered the palace to be in utter chaos. Soldiers and servants were running in and out of rooms, carrying number of items, with Queen Aleena commanding them into place.

"Move it!" Aleena shouted strictly. "I want nothing of value left exposed! Make sure all treasures are out of sight!"

"Your majesty." Lucario said breathlessly while kneeling to the queen. "What's wrong? Why are you moving your valuables out of place? I've never seen you act this rash before."

"We don't have much time, Lucario." Aleena stated nervously. "He should be here in a few short hours."

"Who is it?!" Lucario growled defensively. "Are we being attacked?! Is it Orion again?!"

"No, it's worse." Aleena answered shakily.

The blue jackal eyed his queen in confusion. She had braved through undead armies, confronted mythological beasts, and every joined in the fight against the destructive Bat Colony. What could be worse than that? He asked the same question and received his answer in the form of a letter. His eyes raced back and forth when taking in the words, but found nothing to be concerned about. But then the caught sight of the signature and his face went pale.

"Not him..." Lucario moaned in a whining manner.

"Now you understand what we're dealing with." Aleena nodded, watching her servants crash into one another. "We will put all the more valuable items in storage and I want Stream away from him during the remainder of his stay." She glanced up and down the hall. "Lucario, where is my son?"

"Yeah...about that..." Lucario said hesitantly.

Even a brave warrior like Lucario was weak against the fearsome glare of the queen. This day couldn't get any worse.

* * *

The scene alternates to the gentle shores of the South Island Beach, a favored attraction to the tourist and residents. At the far end of the beach, away from a majority of the crowd, Damien was sleeping in the sand while Stream was playing with his new friend. It was the little girl from when Orion invaded, the only one who accepted Damien as a person. She was a young white mouse no older than five with silver shoulder-length hair, wearing red shorts and a grey sleeveless shirt.

"Hey, no fair, Stream!" The girl giggled as Stream splashed her.

"All's fair in splash fights, Eli!" Stream laughed amusingly.

"Hey, do I have to separate you two again!" Damien called.

"No, Damien!" Stream and Eli shouted simultaneously.

"Kids..." Damien muttered irritantly. "I sometime wonder why people have them."

When the lazy hound wasn't looking, the children resumed their fun into the water. They managed to get in a few minutes of playtime before something caught Stream's eye. A pickle barrel was floating across the shallows of the water, making its way directly to the shore. Now it wasn't unusual to see some debris in the water, but a pickle barrel was definitely something to think about. It didn't take Damien long to notice this once Stream and Eli pushed the round create into the sand.

"What do you think is inside?" Eli asked curiously.

"Probably some storage." Damien stated assumingly. "It's not uncommon for ship to lose cargo when crossed rough waters. They must have been hit by a big wave and this thing got lost along the way."

"I don't think so." Stream said, pressing his ear to the wood. "I think I hear something breathing."

Now Damien's curiosity was peaked. The last time something similar to this was reported, Gale and Riolu had managed to breech the defenses of South Island. The golden hound motioned for the children to step away from the barrel as his claws gained a neon-violet color. Since the Nightmare Invasion, Damien had obtained a better control of his darker half. As he raised his claw into the air, the top of the barrel suddenly burst open and something hard slammed into his chin. The unexpected result sent the demonic hound flying into the trees, knocking himself out in the branches.

"Damien?" Stream said curiously.

"You think he dead?" Eli asked nonchalantly.

"Well, it might not be first-class, but it does the job."

The children turned to their attention to the strange man emerging from the barrel while stretching his sore back. The man was a green hedgehog in his mid-thirties with emerald-green fur and six contour quills. He bared a striking resemblance to Gale with the exception of the three scars cutting across his chest. He wore a long black coat with silver lines along the spine, white gloves, blue/white boots, a silvery-white belt, and a rope bracelet similar on his right wrist. Strangely enough, he kept a pair of cutters tied to the side of his belt. The unknown man stepped out of the barrel, shielding his eyes from the intense sun, and stared up and down the coastline.

"Well, this place hasn't changed." The hedgehog noted dryly.

"Excuse me." Eli said, tugging at the man's coat. "But I think you knocked out our friend."

"Ooh, that is a bit of rotten luck." The hedgehog said when noticing the unconscious hound. He turned back to the children. "But I really don't have time for him. You see, I'm in a hurry to meet the queen of this island."

"You know mama?" Stream asked curiously.

"Mama?" The hedgehog repeated. "You mean Aleena is your mother?" He waited as Stream nodded his head. "Then that must mean you are my nephew! Wow, I always thought you would be older, Sonic!"

"Sonic's my big brother." Stream proclaim proudly. "I am Stream the Hedgehog."

"Stream..." The hedgehog hummed pleasingly. "That's a nice name. As for me, my name is Scourge the hedgehog: Son of Capt. Swift, Brother of Gale the Hedgehog, and Pirate Lord of the Atlantic!"

"You're the brother of Stream's dad?" Eli asked awestruck.

"Twin brother to be exact." Scourge smirked deviously. "Yeah, we go way back. I can't tell you the number of times both our crews battled each other." He pointed to his scars. "I got these marks when I fought your dad's first mate, Wrist."

"You knew uncle Wrist, too?" Stream asked excitedly.

"It seems I have a lot to tell you kids." Scourge said, patting their heads playfully. "Why don't I tell you children all my adventures over a mug of rum...?" He watched the children's curious expression. "On second thought, let's just go for a town on the town. Let the King of Chaos show you a good time!"

Stream and Eli cheered as they followed Scourge into town, leaving Damien lying forgotten in the sand.

**---One hour Later---**

After exactly sixty minutes had passed, Damien was still nowhere near awaking from his stupor state. Fortunately, a pair of familiar figures arrived just for the occasion. Lucario traced his eyes around his adoptive son's body and was relieved to find nothing but a golf ball-sized lump on his forehead from when he hit the tree. With a swift nod from his leader, Genesis grinned deviously as he clapped his hands together. A moment later, Damien jumped into the air after experiencing a pinching sensation beneath his skin. Upon landing, he hesitantly looked up from his position to find Lucario and Genesis – neither of them looked particularly happy.

"Uh...hey, dad" Damien greeted feebly.

"Where is the prince?" Lucario questioned shortly.

"Now that is what makes you such a great captain." Damien said evasively. "That is why you are my inspiration, my role model, my..."

"You lost the kid, didn't you?" Genesis interjected.

"Yes." Damien admitted downheartedly. "But it wasn't my fault! Somebody was hiding in that barrel and caught me by surprise!"

"Pathetic." Genesis murmured.

"Hmm..." Lucario hummed thoughtfully, kneeling to the broken barrel. "It looks like Scourge arrived much sooner than we expected. What I don't get is how he managed to remain on the island for so long and not be spotted. He is known for drawing attention to himself."

"Then how will we find him?" Genesis asked.

"I remember his aura from when I was a Riolu." Lucario responded. "He may have grown older, but his aura remains unique. With my powers, I should be able to detect him."

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Damien exclaimed.

Lucario sent a menacing glare to his adoptive child – he was not escaping punishment just yet. The blue jackal sealed his from his proper vision and activated his sixth sense: Aura. Even when blinded from the world, Lucario could spot the shapes of everything within his environment, including the auras surrounding them. Genesis held a malevolent crimson aura, most likely represented by blood, and Damien's aura was a blank grey, symbolizing his mixture of light and darkness. Turning his head to the barrel, he picked up a trail of jade-green aura traveling across the beach.

"They're headed for the town." Lucario informed.

"Then let's go bust us a bad guy!" Damien shouted excitedly.

"You're still in big trouble." Lucario stated.

Damien facefaulted. Meanwhile, Scourge was leading his nephew and his friend through the sloping streets of the town. It was apparent that no one remembered what Gale looked like as Scourge was often mistaken for his twin brother. But pretending to be the legal king of the island had its advantages. Scourge was able to secure his precious rum, free of charge, and was able to roam the streets without being hauled off to jail. The children had their own benefits. Stream found a new love for caramel apples and Eli obtained a newborn puppy that Scourge...um...liberated.

"And just as the bat freak was about to make his escape," Scourge said dramatically. "I just out of the water and grabbed him by his ankle. Now, he thought I was dead at the time, so it was natural that he was caught off guard. And before he could do anything about it, I took my Piece of Eight," He taps the cutters on his belt. "And I stabbed it through his heart."

"What happened next?" Eli asked breathlessly.

"Without their leader, the Bat Colony had no idea what to do next." Scourge continued. "After taking out Davy Jones, Gale led the army against the Colony and won the day. A few hours later, he and Aleena finally got hitched."

"Wow, that was a great story, Uncle Scourge." Stream nodded happily.

"Uncle Scourge...." Scourge repeated proudly. "I like the sound of that."

"What happened after the Bat Colony lost?" Eli asked curiously.

"I don't really know myself." Scourge admitted sheepishly. "I only stuck around for my brother's wedding. I went on a trip to a place called Florida in search of the legendary Fountain of Youth. I heard Jack Sparrow found it ages ago, so I thought I might try my luck. And by the time Sonic was born, I still hadn't found it."

"Are you still looking?" Stream asked.

"Nah, too much trouble." Scourge shook playfully. "Besides, I've got bigger plans in mind."

"I hope it involves prison!"

He didn't even need to look to know who it was – Damien was never one for subtlety. With his neon claws raised high above his head, the golden hound took a furious swipe for the invader. Scourge, however, found no trouble in sidestepping the unwarranted assault, watching Damien thrust his claws into the street. Most people would panic at the sign of a battle, but Damien's appearance sent everyone into a frightened frenzy. Snarling at the emerald hedgehog, the corrupted hound snapped his jaws at Scourge. Unfortunately, his hands were still trapped inside the stone streets, making him short in his attack.

"You know, that wasn't very smart." Eli commented.

"Shut up!" Damien snapped.

"So, you must be the mangy mutt Stream told me about." Scourge said, oblivious to the throbbing vein in Damien's forehead. "Well, he was right about one thing, you definitely have a big mouth."

"What?!" Damien roared furiously, glaring at the tiny hedgehog.

"Uh...I meant that in the nicest way possible." Stream muttered feebly.

"Of course, it was a bit obvious to begin with." The group turned and, much to Damien's irritancy, Genesis stood at the end of the street with a smug expression on his face. "It just isn't in his natural to actually think before speaking."

"And you are?" Scourge asked.

"I am Genesis, Elite Guard of the South Island Army." Genesis introduced.

"Elite suck up more like it." Damien murmured disdainfully.

"So, you think you can beat me?" Scourge questioned playfully.

"I don't think I can." Genesis grinned deviously. "I know I can."

Waving his hands in a necromantic fashion, Genesis secretly accessed his special trait. To those who were unaware, Genesis was gifted with the unholy ability to manipulate the blood within person's body, allowing him full control. The use of this ability was considered evil by Queen Aleena, but he never regarded her opinion. He twitched his fingers in sequence to command the hedgehog's body, but was unnerved when he discovered that Scourge didn't even flinch. And when the emerald Pirate Lord began yawning, he lost control of himself and began flailing his hands around in a frantic manner.

"What the hell?!" Genesis cursed – Scourge cover Stream and Eli's ears. "What's going on?! Why can't I gain control?!"

"You think I haven't come across people like you before." Scourge smirked, suddenly appearing at Genesis' side. "This isn't the first time someone tried to manipulate my blood to control my body. Gale and I met a group of Bloodbenders in the Galapagos Islands."

"But how?" Genesis question fearfully.

"We have our ways." Scourge said victoriously.

And before Genesis could fall back on his secondary plan, the emerald Pirate Lord jabbed his fist into the Bloodbender's face. As the exact opposite of Gale, Scourge's strength rested in his fist, making him just as powerful as Wrist the Echidna. Genesis was sent tumbling down the street and crashed into the wall of a florist shop. Stream and Genesis cheered and laughed when finding the blood hedgehog unconscious with a vase of flowers balanced on his head. It was clear that neither of them like him. While Scourge smiled proudly over his success, his sharp senses suddenly caught a sudden sound in the air. He flipped forward into the air and land before a blue sphere of energy collided with his previous position. As the smoke cleared, Lucario was discovered appear on the other end.

"Hey, it's little Riolu!" Scourge waved cheerfully. "It's been a while!"

"I haven't been Riolu since the war against the Bat Colony." Lucario said monotonously, moving into a fighter's stance. "I am Lucario, the Aura Guardian and Captain of the Guard for the South Island Army."

"Whoa, moving up big, eh?" Scourge whistled impressively. "You've really come a long way from being a pirate."

"Lucario was a pirate?!" Stream asked joyously. "That is so cool!"

"I am afraid to ask what you have been teaching him." Lucario said strictly. "So I will just take you in and interrogate you later."

While the Pirate Lord of the Atlantic began sputtering for an explanation, Lucario pressed his paws close together, forming a cluster of energy to gather. Scourge could hear him mutter something about "Aura Sphere" before being attacked by another sphere of blue energy. The emerald hedgehog thrusted his fist forward to collide with the strange Aura Sphere, which exploded on contact. While Scourge was blinded by the smoke created from the impact, Lucario jumped into the cloud with his eyes closed to concentrate. Like before, the blue jackal used his opponent's aura to track him through the haze. Once close enough, Lucario gathered a large of amount of energy into palm and released it into Scourge's chest, calling out a move called "Force Palm". It was fortunate enough that the attack wasn't fatal, but it did leave Scourge short of breath as he fell backward out of the smokescreen. Stream and Eli moaned anxiously as Lucario stepped forward.

"Now you see that I am no longer a pup." Lucario said bored. "Are you ready to give up?"

"Wow, you must not have been paying attention." Scourge laughed.

Catching the jackal off guard, the Pirate Lord swung his leg to trip Lucario from behind. And before he could touch ground, Scourge delivered a powerful uppercut, sending the blue jackal flying against the walls. Lucario glared. He pushed himself from the wall, leaving large imprint, and pressed hands side by side. When pulling them apart, a long staff of white light formed in his paws.

"Well, that's new." Scourge commented.

"It's my new technique: Bone Rush." Lucario grinned. "Let's see what you make of it."

The name of the technique was fitting. Before Scourge had realized that Lucario had moved, the blue jackal was already crouched in front with his new weapon pulled backwards. The Atlantic Pirate Lord had only managed to bend backwards far enough before the end of Lucario's weapon could snap his jaw. Unfortunately, Lucario had planned ahead for this and swung his weapon around to swipe Scourge from behind, forcing him to the ground. The Aura Guardian raised his light weapon and thrusted it down towards his enemy's throat, but was unsuccessfully as the Pirate Lord grabbed the end with his palm. As Scourge attempted to tug away the weapon, he remained unaware of Lucario's paw that rest on his chest. Next thing he knew, the blue jackal released another Force Palm, forming a crater in the center of the street.

"Uncle Scourge!" Stream shouted worried.

"Do not worry, he is in no danger." Lucario assured, extinguishing his weapon.

"No danger, huh?" Scourge murmured sarcastically. Lucario press his foot on his chest to keep the hedgehog pinned. "With friends like you around, who needs enemies?"

"You will remain silent." Lucario commanded.

"What is going on here?"

While Lucario's gaze remained on hedgehog beneath him, the rest of the group turned their head backwards. Aleena was pacing down the street, obviously attracted by the amount of destruction caused in such short time. Genesis, who had managed to regain consciousness, much to Stream and Eli's disappointment, bowed low to his queen. He was hoping against hope that no one would tell her about his attempts at Bloodbending. The queen obviously ignored him and over forward to her son."

"Stream, I was so worried about you." Aleena said tiredly. "Are you all right?"

"I'm just fine, mommy." Stream answered happily.

"I caught Scourge trying to kidnap the prince." Lucario stated. "Genesis, Damien, and I had just managed to catch up with him."

"I never kidnapped anyone!" Scourge exclaimed. "Well...if you don't count that maid in Ireland, a captain of a navy fleet, that rich guy Britain, and the pope on a few occasions. But I would never kidnap my own family......for free."

"I've had enough of you, Scourge." Aleena said angrily. "You not only attempt to cause chaos to my home, but you also try to take my son! That's a new low for you, Scourge! I have the right mind to throw you off the nearest cliff!"

"But he didn't kidnap us, your majesty." Eli proclaimed.

"Yeah, Uncle Scourge was having fun with us." Stream explained, much to Aleena's surprise. "He gave us some nice gifts and told us about you and daddy's adventures."

"He did?" Aleena said, barely a whisper – Stream nodded. "I don't believe it."

The Queen of South Island and the Pirate Lord of the Atlantic crossed gazes with one another. For as long as she had known him, Aleena would never have expected Scourge to act nice and charitable. She could remember Gale telling her how he almost managed to steal the Master Emerald and held a grudge against him for helping her evil father. But even though she hated the hedgehog with all her soul, she couldn't deny the facts that he had helped on more than one occasion. Memories of their travels to Mangaia to rescue Gale and his assistance against the Bat Colony proved to be some turning points. After collecting her thoughts for a moment, she nodded to Lucario, signaling to step away. Though hesitant, the blue jackal allowed him to stand.

"It's about time." Scourge said dignified, patting the dust off his coat.

"Be thankful that she allowed you to remain alive." Genesis sneered.

"Not like you would be able to do anything about it." Scourge retorted.

"You filthy..."

"I think that will do, Genesis." Aleena said in a commanding tone. "Scourge, I will admit that I have...misjudged you." She grimaced at Scourge's playful smirk. "But you have caused a large amount of destruction during your stay."

"Hey, I didn't do it alone!" Scourge snapped.

"Which is why the others will assist you in repair the town." Aleena stated, ignoring the groans of her subjects. "But for right now, I would think that everyone is famished. Let's return to the castle for lunch."

"Now you're speaking my language." Scourge said excitedly.

With the arrangements settled, the group turned down the street, headed back to the castle. Stream asked is Eli could join them and Aleena allowed it. But as they paced up the hill, Lucario couldn't shake the feeling that they were forgetting something.

"Hello!" Damien called, once again attempting to free his arms from the street. "Hello! Is anyone there! Your favor dog is trapped here! I wouldn't mind someone lending me a hand! HELLO!!" His ears lowed sadly and murmured softly. "Can you at least bring back some fries."

**

* * *

**

The sake of family is always the most important foundation. What will happen to Scourge after his visit? What is happening to the heroes at this time? And will Damien get his fries? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!

**Please, read and review.**


	75. The Season of Change

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Corrupt © DarkspineSilver92

Chapter Seventy-Five: The Season of Change

The scene opens to the eastern border of the famous city of Station Square. All seemed very normal on the streets, inside and out, that nothing would make it look like something was about to happen. But upon further inspection, we see a group of lowly criminals trying to make a break for it towards the city border. There were only five of them and one of them was holding a tattered cloth close to his chest. As he removed the cloth, the criminal stared down at what was identified as the purple Chaos Emerald.

"Are you sure this was such a good idea?" One of the criminals asked nervously.

"Of course, you idiot!" The leader, a female, snapped. "Haven't you heard? Nazo and the Dark Rulers are looking for these little gems. I'll bet anything that they will pay top dollar to get their hands on them."

"But what if the Sonic Heroes find us?" A teenager asked.

"The Sonic heroes...please." The leader rolled her eyes. "You think they have time to handle petty thieves?"

"They might not, but we do."

The group of thieves stopped in their tracks at the sound of the voice, but not because they were afraid. They tried moving their feet, but their shoes would not leave the concrete – they had been magnetized to the ground. The leader snarled and snapped her head to the source of the voice, instantly regretting her decision. Hybrid the Hedgehog was kneeled at the corner of the street with his hands pressed into the sidewalk, emitting a steady flow of electricity. Rector Rose stood beside him with Howl the Wolf, Raine the Butterfly, and Marine the Raccoon bring up backup.

"Going somewhere?" Rector questioned playfully.

"Team Virtex!" The teenager screamed frantically. "I knew this was a bad idea!"

"Well, they always did say crime never pays." Raine commented.

"But think of it this way." Howl grinned. "You're getting an all-paid trip to Prison Island."

With Hybrid continuing to magnetize the thief's feet to the ground, there wasn't much of a choice left for them. Rector pressed his palm into one of the criminal's chest, releasing a flow of energy. Howl hit another in the neck with the hilt of his sword, effectively striking the man's nerves. Raine, who was eager to test her newest concoction, tossed a cloud of light-blue powder into the teenager's face, lulling him to sleep. And Marine just released a sphere of green energy into one of the younger thief's chest. Once the criminals were effectively defeated, Hybrid released his hold on their feet and watched them topple in random directions.

"Well, that was....short." Hybrid said bored.

"Eh, we haven't had a decent job since Nazo attacked." Rector shrugged.

"Hey, mates." Marine called to her friends. "Weren't there five of them?"

Counting over the unconscious bodies, they found that there were four of the five criminals they had managed to capture. And worse of all, the leader had stolen the Chaos Emerald when they weren't looking. Just as Hybrid began laming himself for releasing her too early, the missing criminal dropped from the sky and landed at the top of the pile – the Chaos Emerald fell in Raine's hands. The group blinked and stared back to the sky as a dark blur landed in front of them. Just as the team began preparing themselves for battle, Rector quickly called them off. His heart soared as the newest arrival stood before them.

"Looking for someone?" Shade smiled playfully.

"Shade?!" Rector screamed happily. He grabbed the echidna girl by her waist and started twirling her around. "Shade, I can't believe you're here! You don't know how much I missed you!"

"And I missed you, Rector." Shade said nauseously. "Now can you put me down? I think I'm gonna be sick."

"Sorry about that." Rector apologized sheepishly, setting the echidna back to the ground. "But what are you doing here? Last time we heard from you, you were working from some scientist in Shamar."

"Turned out to be a bust." Shade lied. She had agreed with Amy and Prof. Pickle that the existence of Light and Dark Gaia should remain secret. "I found the temple he was looking for, but there was not really much to do there."

"Aw, too bad." Marine pouted.

"So what bring you here, old friend?" Hybrid asked kindly.

"I'm here for a job offer." Shade informed. "That is, if the position is still open."

"The job is always open for you." Rector stated proudly, slinging his arm over her shoulder. "Of course, we already have six spots filled and only have one more place on the team. And we have already been given a number of candidates." He turned his head and gave a business-like expression. "But first, we're going to need to see your application, criteria, and business recommendations."

"Oh boy." Shade muttered.

* * *

The scene alternates to the dark and dreary dimension of the Dark Ruler's Castle. The leader of the dark organization, Lord Nazo, was seated at his throne with the chessboard in front of him. As it should be noted, all the pieces on the board represented a different character participating in the Dark War. There had been twice as many pieces added since Hybrid's tournament and most of them were helping the heroes. The Dark Ruler himself was transforming his hand from normal to ice, testing his Gaia Warrior powers. While looking through his clear claw, he could see the faint outlines of the Light-Blue and Green Chaos Emeralds floating overhead. Since the fall of Black Doom, all side of the war had been hunting endlessly for the emeralds. The Dark Rulers had two emeralds, Metal had the yellow emerald, and Nazo was pleased to learn that the SOnic Heroes had no emeralds. But surprisingly, the Sol Emeralds had no appeared after a long time.

"What do you want, Corrupt?" Nazo questioned suddenly.

Before the vile hedgehog even appeared, Nazo could recognize his power. The dark life-form appeared in a cloud of darkness and kneeled before his master.

"Lord Nazo, we have discovered the location of the next Chaos Emerald." Corrupt reported.

"And as usual, you are late." Nazo said in a drawling manner. "I have already learned that the next Chaos Emerald has been stolen by a band of lowly thugs. They were planning to use the emerald as a bargaining chip, but they were caught shortly before their plan could succeed. Now it is in the possession of Team Virtex."

"Forgive me of my lateness, my lord." Corrupt said bitterly.

"I have noticed that there has been a severe lack of trust for you, Corrupt." Nazo stated, returning his hand to normal.

"Who dares mistrust me?" Corrupt growls.

"Me." Nazo answered shortly. "I have watched you and Rodrigo and I feel that you two are...out of place."

"Then what do you wish for me to do, master?" Corrupt questioned.

"I am sending you on a mission to retrieve the Chaos Emerald." Nazo explained. "Collect the emerald and nothing more. This is no longer the dark realm of hell, Corrupt. It's time for you to prove your worth."

* * *

The scene returns to the heart of Station Square, entering the apartment of Team Virtex. Rector was seated in his office – his feet propped on the desk – and scanned over Shade's file. Howl sat calmly on the windowsill, Hybrid was tapping his foot anxiously next to the door, and Raine and Marine were trying to sneak peeks in the file. Shade was twitching nervously in the center of the room. She had never applied for a job before – they never had them in ancient times – and she rushed through her report, meaning it was sloppy and remedial. She had only hoped that her previous experience in Hybrid's Tournament would be enough to convince them. Her spine stiffened as Rector closed the file.

"I have to be honest with you, Shade." Rector said solemnly. "This is by far the worst profile I've ever seen. You have no public records, you have no previous job experience, and you were unable to fill out the application correctly." Shade cringed at the criticism. "But the worst part of it is, I can't read your handwriting."

He opened the file for everyone to see – the lines on the application were filled by unreadable scribbles.

"I never really learned how to write." Shade stated nervously. "Imper - I mean, Ix never really thought it was worth my time. I was to grow up as a fighter, so I never received a proper education."

"But that shouldn't matter!" Hybrid exclaimed. "Shade has proven herself worthy enough in battle! She was the Runner-Up in the Ultimate World Tournament! That should be good enough!"

"We have twenty-six applicants who are just as qualified." Rector stated coolly. "I can't play favorites."

"Listen, you pompous little..."

"It's ok, Hybrid." Shade said sadly. "I understand that I am not good enough."

"But you are good enough." Marine said supportively, turning her head to the ruby hedgehog. "Isn't she?"

"She is a force to be feared in battle." Rector said acknowledged. "But without a decent education, she can't apply for this job or any other job in the world." He stood up and stared at the echidna warrior. "So all I can suggest is..."

But before he could finish those dreaded words that Shade had feared, a massive explosion echoed through the air. The vibrations shook the very foundation of the apartment that items were flew all over the room. Most of the unimportant items were wrecked, but the team managed to save a few valuables and Marine caught a Ming vase with her teeth. As Raine gently placed a team picture on the ground, she floated over to the window, spotting a plume of smoke in the distance.

"I think there's another monster in the city." Raine said pointedly.

"Finally, a challenge!" Rector cheered eagerly.

"Perhaps I shall join you." Shade suggested hopefully.

"I'm sorry, Shade." Howl said distantly. "But this is a matter reserved for the Sonic Heroes or Team Virtex. And seeing as how you are not a part of either group, you cannot join us."

"But..." Shade interjected, turning to her friend. "Hybrid..."

The mixed hedgehog said nothing as he followed the rest of the team out the door, leaving Shade alone with her thoughts. Meanwhile, Corrupt was causing the usual amount of destruction that you would expect from a Dark Ruler. But even as he pleased himself to the mayhem he created, the vile hedgehog could not remove the thread of hatred hanging in his mind. Who was Nazo to believe that he was superior? What gave that lowly rat the right to command him, the Eternal Shadow? If he didn't already have plans for the Chaos Emeralds, Corrupt would have never agreed to this.

"It will be worth it." Corrupt muttered. "Once I have the Chaos Emeralds in my possession again, the world will tremble before my power. And this time, Chaos will not be around to stop me."

"Talking to yourself is a bad habit."

At the sound of the voice, Corrupt instinctively ducked down, expecting someone to attack from above. He watched with eager anticipation as Rector flew overhead, but was unable to attack as a strike of lightning suddenly snapped at his chest. The vile demon skidded backwards, holding the welt forming on his chest, when barely noticing the shadow hanging overhead. It was apparent that they had preplanned the attack as the lightning strike force Corrupt into Rector's path. The ruby hedgehog swung his leg downwards, but Corrupt raised his forearm in defense and pushed back his attacker. Rector landed beside Hybrid, who was kneeled close to the ground, behind Howl and Marine.

"Hey, I remember that bugger." Marine informed pointedly. "That's one of the blokes that ruined Rouge's wedding."

"One of the two abominations that returned with Nazo." Howl informed.

"Well, at least your memory is still sharp." Corrupt chuckled sinisterly.

"And exactly why are you attacking the city?" Hybrid questioned. "We're still cleaning up from the whole incident with Nazo and Shadic."

"Do I need a reason to create mayhem and destruction?" Corrupt questioned snidely. "But if you must know, I am looking for the missing Chaos Emerald. And a little birdy told me that t would be with you."

"Well, you're too late." Rector stated victoriously. "A friend of ours already took the emerald and is already on her way to delivering it to Shadow's team. And I know that even Nazo isn't stupid enough to attack on their territory."

"Then my mission is a failure." Corrupt shrugged. But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy ripping the four of your, limb by limb."

"No you won't, mate!" Marine screamed.

The feisty raccoon thrusted her hand forward to release a sphere of green energy. Corrupt was not concerned by this and effortlessly tossed the attack away with a flick of his wrist. And as he took a step forward, he took careful notice that Howl was drawing his sword, holding it in reverse as he was reported to have done. The dark hedgehog was foolish enough to mistake this for a defensive reaction before noticing something that he had not seen before. A cloud of black dust surrounded him – the particles were smaller than a grain of rice, which made it nearly impossible to see. Looking upward, he spotted the missing member, Raine, pouring the contents of a vial over him and floating back to join the rest of her team. Drawn by curiosity, Corrupt took a whiff of the dust.

"Hmm..." Corrupt hummed. "Sulfur...charcoal....potassium nitrate. These are all ingredients need to make...." His eyes were suddenly shot wide in shock. "Gunpowder! You were distracting me the entire time!"

"Aren't you the cleaver one?" Howl complimented sarcastically.

Before the demonic hedgehog could even think of moving, Howl scraped the steel of his sword across the ground, forming a parade of sparks. At the moment that sparks came in contact with the gunpowder, Hybrid clapped his hands together to form a barrier of electrical energy. The polarized shield protected the heroes from the blast, but Corrupt was caught directly in the center of a multitude of explosions. It only took a minute, but the vibrations created by the blasts felt like an eternity. It was only was the last flicker of sound faded did the mixed hedgehog release his hold over the protective barrier.

"That was...short." Raine commented disappointedly.

"Almost too short." Howl stated suspiciously. "This is the same guy who took on Blaze in her Burning Form."

"Maybe we've just gotten stronger." Marine said optimistically.

"Don't count on it."

The heroes drew themselves ready for battle at once from the sound of the malevolent tone. The smoke cleared away to reveal Corrupt, who only received a minimal of burns and scratches. His arms were crossed in front of his head and the red eyes of his gloves glowed with a dim light before fading. As he lowered his hands, the expression on Corrupt's face was terrifying enough to scare anyone faint of heart – Marine passed out.

"You've got to be kidding me." Rector groaned.

"I have never been one for jokes." Corrupt snarled. "Now you will have to suffer an even more gruesome fate than I had originally planned."

"You will never harm my team." Rector stated firmly. "Not as long as I continue to draw breathe."

"That can be easily fixed." Corrupt said manically.

The stubborn hedgehog did not stop to listen before swing a chaos-enhanced punch to his enemy. His fist managed to touch the ground, but Corrupt had already vanished at the time. Before he realized what had happened, Rector could feel the demonic hedgehog grabbing his head from behind before losing his balance and falling forward. It appeared that Corrupt was draining Rector of not only his power, but his life-force as well. The remaining members of Team Virtex made a dash for their leader, but Corrupt had once again raised a barrier from the red eye on his glove. His attention was more focused on Rector, but it seemed that no matter how much life-force he drained, the ruby hedgehog refused to die.

"_This can't be happening._" Corrupt thought irritably. "_No one should have this much life in them, not even Nazo. This child has the greatest amount of life-force possible. Not even Gods should be able to resist._"

"**Lumen Swipe!!**" Howl cried.

Corrupt's mind was brought back to reality as his barrier of darkness was suddenly breached. He faintly caught a whip of white energy out of the corner of his eye and grabbed it firmly within his hand. He released the whip almost immediately – he couldn't touch pure light. Howl retracted his light whip into its sword form as he made a direct run for the demonic hedgehog. Corrupt was certain that in any form, the weapon was forged from pure light, making it lethal to him. He ducked and dived at every possible turn, but wolf swordsman was extremely fast and made it impossible to escape without a scratch. Now covered in abnormal injuries, Corrupt pushed out his hand to form a claw of darkness. The sudden attack caught Howl by surprise and pinned him to the far-side wall – his sword fell at a distance.

"Damn..." Corrupt cursed, hissing at his own movements. "No one mentioned that I would come to battle with a wielder of the light. I would have taken extra precautions to defend myself."

But while his mind was distracted, he failed to notice that all the lights in the block had suddenly gone out. But with his heightened senses, he managed to detect a hint of ionized oxygen – there was electricity in the air. Craning his head over his shoulder, he managed to find Hybrid gathering a large amount of electricity into his body. Corrupt attempted to attack before his opponent, but then learned the mixed hedgehog had already taken the liberty of magnetizing his feet to the ground.

"**Lightning Javelin!!**" Hybrid shouted.

And for a split-second, Hybrid zipped across the street, tearing up the pavement in his path. He stabbed his own body into Corrupt's back and stampeded forward through the closest building, collapsing the structure. Rector, who was faintly recovering from his drain, shook his head to release his daze and stared back at the pile where his teammate disappeared to. It was unfortunate for him to learn that Hybrid had failed in his attempt as Corrupt emerged from the rubble, carrying the mixed hedgehog by his neck. He dropped his defeated opponent unceremoniously onto the ground and cringed with each movement – the attack had done enough damage

"I can see why Nazo had difficulty." Corrupt groaned. His gaze shifted to Raine, who was attempting to wake Marine. "But now all I am left with is you. Then I can kill you all as slowly as I please."

"You...can't." Rector groaned weakly. "I won't..."

"Yes, I already know." Corrupt interrupted tiredly. "But there is nothing left for you. Your team has been defeated and you can barely stand. There is no one that can save you now."

"You might want to count again!"

It wasn't until the last moment that Corrupt turned before a black boot pounded into the side of his face. Already weakened from the previous battles, Corrupt's body tumbled across the pavement before being stopped by a lamppost. Somewhat relieved, Rector glanced back at their savior, caught by shock when he learned that it was Shade the Echidna. The Knuckle Tribe warrior had already drawn out her signature Leech Blades and looked ready to fight.

"Shade, you shouldn't be here." Rector stated.

"I need to be here, Rector." Shade said stubbornly. "You need me."

"But..."

"Rector..." Shade said softly. "I won't allow you to die. I love you too much to let that happen."

The ruby hedgehog stopped himself before he could speak again. There had only been one moment in the past where he and Shade had shared an intimate moment together, but she was under Ix's orders at the time. Now, feel from all obligations, Rector realized that her words were true. She did love him.

"Aw, isn't that sweet." Corrupt said sarcastically. "It's moments like these that make me glad I am evil."

"It's just you and me, Corrupt Darkness." Shade stated, moving into battle position.

"So you've learned my name." Corrupt glared. "But no matter how much you learn, it will not be enough!"

Corrupt threw out his hand once more and summoned forth a claw of darkness. But this time, Shade was prepared for it and effortlessly sliced the attack down the middle with his Leech Blade. Snarling lowly, the demonic hedgehog pushed out his other hand to release a surge of black lightning. Fortunately, the echidna female stabbed her second Leech Blade to the ground, redirecting the flow of the attack. Now Corrupt was pissed. No one would dare make a fool of him. With the eyes of his gloves radiating from his rage, the dark demon charge forward and attacked with his fist in a similar manner to Rector. It must have been their similarities that provided Shade with the advantage. She effortlessly sidestepped the attack, although her quills blew from the force, and grabbed the demon's wrist to flip him to the ground. The intense pain from wound on his back was increased tenfold, but Corrupt refused to give the satisfactory of becoming victorious. The demon made for a chance to sit up, but Shade was already sitting on his chest – her Leech Blade held close to his neck.

"Are you ready to surrender?" Shade questioned.

"I will never surrender." Corrupt growled defiantly. "I swear, once I regain my strength, I will..."

But what he would do was never made known. Corrupt stopped himself in mid-sentence after taking a careful observation: Shade left eye was different from her right. When he got a full look at the unknown anomaly, he couldn't resist releasing a gasp of fright. He left eye had transformed to a burning orange with the pupil turned to a slit with six smaller slits surrounding it. He had only seen this once before and it still struck fear in his core.

"I said, are you ready to surrender? Shade repeated dangerously.

Although reluctant, Corrupt vanished into a cloud of darkness. Approximately an hour later, the team had recovered from their encounter and returned home. Rector was making a call to G.U.N. about further the repairs to the city – the government had formed a separate branch just for this situation. Meanwhile, Shade was standing on the roof of the team's apartment, watching as the faint glow of the sun disappeared over the tall buildings. She heard the door close behind her, but didn't bother looking who had shown up – she already knew.

"Amy said she would drop by tomorrow to pick up the Chaos Emerald." Rector informed, taking a place next to Shade.

"That's nice." Shade said monotonously.

"Shade, I know you're upset." Rector said earnestly.

"I understand, Rector." Shade nodded, slightly saddened. "I was not qualified enough to obtained the job. I know you couldn't play favorites and allow someone inexperienced to take the position."

"That's why I'm going to make it my mission to make you qualified!" Rector stated firmly; Shade stared in confusion. "When I formed Team Virtex, I made a rule that said there was a six month waiting period before I am forced to make a decision. The team and I have decided to use that time to educate you in the modern world. And if you qualify by then, you get the job!"

"Rector, that's wonderful!" Shade shouted happily. She opened her arms to hug the ruby hedgehog before stopping suddenly, staring at him suspiciously. "Wait, I know this is going to be free. What's the catch?"

"All I want is your heart and love." Rector said softly.

"I think I can pay for that." Shade smirked.

And without hesitation, Rector welcomed the echidna into his arms and kissed her with all his passion. The same tingling sensation Shade had felt on East Island had returned tenfold. As they separated, the echidna warrior rested her head against her lover's chest, happily listening to his heartbeat. Naturally, Rector found a way to ruin the moment.

"You're first quiz is next Thursday."

"Aw, come on!"

* * *

**We learn from mistakes and grown upon them. Will Shade succeed in her education? Will Team Virtex accept the echidna warrior as a new member? And will Corrupt commit an act similar to his predecessor? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	76. To Return

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Chapter Seventy-Six: To Return

The scene opens to the skies of the Pacific Ocean, where the Egg-Carrier III drifted aimlessly across the clouds. It was atypical day for the team of the most unusual villains in the universe. Eggman was trying to throttle Rai for making fun of his weight, Violet was casually reading a book, and Metal resumed his endless hours of staring into the Chaos Emerald. But today, the metallic copy was pulled from his meditation by his own son, Emerl. The young Gizoid had pulled his father out by his arm and dragged the irritable mech into the training room, ignoring Mecha, who was occupying the space.

"There better be a good reason for disturbing me." Metal scowled.

"It is, father." Emerl said excitedly. "I have been practicing the Metal Surge ever since the battle against my copies on East Island. I think I finally perfected it."

"Oh, this I got to see." Mecha said amusingly.

The blue clone said nothing but merely waved Emerl to continue. The Gizoid's copying ability allowed him great promise, but the true power depended on his strength of will and control. Both of which he showed no signs of. But Emerl was persistent as he faced the steel training dummy at the other end of the room. The young mech crouched low in the usual stance and gripped his left arm, attempting to gather energy from within. Emerl had mastered the form, but master the technique was an entirely different story. Slowly, but surely, a crackle of electricity began forming around his claw until flaring into a surge of lightning.

"**Metal Surge!!**" Emerl roared.

With jubilant expectations, the young Gizoid charged ahead at the dummy and thrusted his amplified fist forward. Unfortunately, at the last second, the electrical attack dissipated and only his normal fist collided with the metallic skull.

"Well, that was certainly entertaining." Mecha said bored, going back to his training.

"I...I don't understand." Emerl murmured. "It was working fine earlier. If I could use it against Ix and the Gizoids, why can't I use it when I want to?!" He punched his fist into the wall.

"Because you have nothing to drive you." Metal stated – Emerl winced. His voice did not sound angry, but disappoint, which made the Gizoid feel worse. "Last time, you were encouraged to strive for survival and to protect your family. But now that you are no longer in danger, you cannot access that power." He walked to the door. "You are not powerful enough."

And he left, leaving Emerl alone with his thoughts, which was offensively punctured by Mecha's grunts. After what seemed like an hour, Emerl finally found the strength to move and began wandering the Egg-Carrier. Why was it that he was the weakest of everyone on board? Bokkun may have counted, but he had been locked in the utility closet since the Christmas episode. Metal and Mecha were equals in terms of strength and power, the Metal Squadron had their own unique traits, and even the Eggman proved to be formidable when angry. Be he was supposed to be the first Gizoid, the greatest creation of the Nocturnus Tribe. He had powers people could only dream of possessing. So why was he so weak?

"Why can't I do anything right." Emerl whispered.

"Mumbling to yourself again?" The Gizoid jumped once Violet appeared out of nowhere. The colored Chaos clone once again had her non-existent nose buried in a book. "You know, that could be part of a health issue."

"Read that out of a book?" Emerl asked sarcastically."

"Actually, I did." Violet nodded – Emerl facefaulted. "_Travels with the mentally broken _is a best seller."

"I'm sure you didn't come out here to talk about book preferences." Emerl glared.

"I can't seem to find Metal anywhere." Violet said, flipping to another page. "I want to inform him that another Chaos Emerald has been located on the Emerald Scanner."

"And just where is this Chaos Emerald?" Emerl questioned interestingly.

"Somewhere in the mountains of Mongolia." Violet informed. "But we have detected a large trace of Chaos Energy in that very same vicinity. No doubt in my mind that Nazo is attempting to recover the emerald himself."

"Thanks for the news." Emerl bowed respectfully. "I will be sure to inform my father."

And with that, he raced down the deserted corridor.

"He's not going to tell him." Violet said blandly.

* * *

The scene alternates to the western borders of Mongolia, close to the base of the highest mountains in the country. As the harsh wind brushed against the large formation, the glimmer of Nazo's silver fur glinted in the sun. The God of Darkness stared intently at the dirt beneath his feet – his gaze piercing through the stone and dust. Suddenly, the ground began to shift below and Nazo shot out his hands as a shining object jumped into the air. Turning over his hand, the Gaia Warrior of Light smiled proudly at the red Chaos Emerald in his open palm.

"That will make my third emerald successfully captured." Nazo said pleasantly, replacing the gem into his quills.

"_Shall we be preparing for your return?_" Mephiles' voice echoed.

"Not just yet." Nazo smirked, taking a seat on the nearest rock. "Right now, I want to make sure that I have been thorough with my investigation. It would be such a tragedy to let this venture go to waste."

"_Are you certain, my lord?_" Mephiles questioned awkwardly.

"Trust me, Mephiles." Nazo chuckled. "I have everything under control."

And so, the God of Darkness closed his eyes and allowed the time to wander by. Even as the harsh winds ruffled his fur, the leader of the Dark Rulers remained motionless, expecting something to appear out of the blue. For several hours, Nazo did not move an inch – the local wildlife believed him to be a statue added to the landscape. Suddenly, his eyes snapped wide open and flipped backwards into the air as the ground exploded beneath him. The wildlife hisses and scattered in anger for being disturbed, but Nazo remained floating in midair, staring interestingly at his recent arrival. He had half expected to see Sonic or Metal when the smoke cleared, but was genuinely surprised when Emerl emerged.

"Well, this is a change of pace." Nazo chuckled. "Instead of a real challenge, they send me a child."

"I am not a child!" Emerl snapped.

"You could have fooled me, little one." Nazo sniggered as he landed. "Now run along and play like a good little boy. This is for adults only."

"I was created four thousand years ago." Emerl stated pointedly. "You have no right to treat me like an infant."

"Compared to me, you are one." Nazo laughed.

The God of Darkness was really striking at Emerl's nerves. It was bad enough that he was considered weak, but now he was being mocked by a sworn enemy of his father. Fueled by his anger, Emerl accessed his memory banks for Sonic's speed with Knuckle's strength added in the mix. He felt proud of himself upon seeing Nazo's surprised expression when his fist jabbed against the Dark Ruler's jaw. The evil hedgehog flew backwards into the mountainside, forming a vertical crater within the formation itself. Emerl laughed victoriously, but was halted immediately when the bruise on Nazo's chin healed itself and the God of Darkness smiled in a malevolent manner.

"I'm impressed." Nazo compliment as he jumped down to the ground. "I can name a very few number of people that have been able to deliver such a powerful blow when I am at full strength. Perhaps your services could be better used as a member of the Dark Rulers."

"That's for the offer." Emerl glared. "But I feel my services are better suited for my current career."

"Too bad." Nazo grimaced. "I was hoping of finding someone to replace Corrupt or Rodrigo. It's very difficult to find good help these days."

Accessing the powers of Blaze and Silver combined, Emerl released a wave of flames from his hand, which he mentally transformed into a row of tigers. Nazo couldn't resist a laugh. He had been hoping to test his newly acquired powers, but he had expected it to be against the Heroes. Smirking lightly, the God of Darkness transformed his hand to reshape into its frozen claw form. Nazo released a mist of frozen air from his palm, which would have normally frozen any object within reach. But he was surprised to learn that Emerl had used Silver's powers to form a perfect barrier around the flames. With fire beasts surrounding him, Nazo had no choice but to raise his arms in defense as the flames engulfed his body. The young Gizoid watched as his fire devoured the remains of his enemy, but altered his gaze when he noticed something glimmering out of the corner of his eye. The red Chaos Emerald had somehow escaped from Nazo's possession and rolled across the ground. Emerl released his control and gently caressed the flashing gem in his hand.

"Hmph. And he called himself a god." Emerl sniggered.

"You should believe everything you see."

Before he could recognize what had happened, a frozen claw clutched Emerl's forearm. Within a fraction of a second, his entire right arm was coated in a think layer of ice before being shattered to pieces. As he staggered backwards – the Chaos Emerald dropped to the ground – he took a single glance at the remains of his arm then to his attacker. The creature resembled much like Blue and Violet, but was made from solid ice. Nazo reverted to his Gaia Warrior Form.

"But...how?" Emerl groaned.

"Did Eggman tell you?" Nazo questioned – Emerl stared confused. "Hmm...Eggman must have decided to keep that whole venture a secret. Well, I guess I can honor that and respect the privacy of Light and Dark Gaia."

"And Violet says I mumble." Emerl said aloud.

"It does not matter." Nazo waved as he collected the Chaos Emerald. "The fact is that I have more than enough power to defeat you."

"Well see about that." Emerl seethed.

The young Gizoid didn't know what drove him to it, but he crouched low and held his remaining arm forward. Nazo could recognize the stance from anywhere as he had been on the opposite end of the attack for a number of times. But for someone as young and unfocused as Emerl, it wasn't really expected for him to perform the attack perfectly. Imagine the look of shock on Nazo's blank expression when a storm of electricity began to gather around the small mech's hand. Metal was right: only the thirst for survival could empower him.

"**Metal Surge!!**" Emerl shouted.

"Hmm...How interesting." Nazo said intriguingly. "Perhaps I have underestimated you."

"And you're going to pay for it!" Emerl screamed.

The small mech lowered his hand – the flash of lightning shattering the ground – and activated the combined speed of Sonic, Shadow, Kumori, and Amy. With the stamina and agility of a god, Emerl flashed across the terrain faster than you could breathe, shattering the ground in his wake. A colossal eruption formed from the contact of two forces, tearing away at the land and a large percent of the mountain. As the impact began to die down, Emerl's faint outline could be seen behind the cloud of smoke. The young mech's body trembled – he used more energy than what was necessary to form the attack. The Gizoid dropped to his knees in exhaustion, but swiftly discovered that his arm remained hanging in midair. It was only when the rest of the cloud vanished did Emerl realize that his hand had impacted with a wall of thin ice.

"What the?" Emerl questioned surprisingly.

"Surprised?" The Gizoid was shocked, but nearly jumped out of his armor as Nazo's head formed from the wall of ice. "It's times like these that I miss being a Guardian. Parasiden was especially lovely during the eight months of winter."

"While you busy with your nostalgia," Emerl grunted, pressing his feet into the wall to pull his arm. "I need that Chaos Emerald."

"To earn your father's respect?" Nazo questioned. His answer was made clear as Emerl stiffened. "You foolishly believed that you could challenge me in order to prove yourself. That was very admirable, but very idiotic."

"Says you." Emerl sneered.

"Yes..." Nazo chuckled, grasping Emerl's head. "Say Nazo."

* * *

The scene returns to the Egg-Carrier within the central computer chamber. Eggman was playing a game of chess with Knux and surprisingly losing to the robotic echidna. Meanwhile, Violet was reading her newest book: _What to do when your boss's kid decides to fight an evil mastermind. _The rest of the crew still wonders where she finds such highly detailed novel. But at the moment, Metal and Amelia walked into the computer room, glancing back and forth with worried expressions. It wasn't until Amelia tossed Knux and Eggman through the ceiling did Violet lower her book.

"Is there a problem?" Violet sighed.

Emerl's missing!" Amelia screamed, ripping the pipes off the walls. "Metal was so caught up in his stupid experiments that he lost our only son!!"

"I did not lose him." Metal argued calmly; he ducked Amelia's metallic hammer. "I told you before that Emerl was practicing his control of the Metal Surge in the training room. He's probably just wandering around in the Black Clones manufactory again."

"I wouldn't count on it." Violet said airily.

"Do you know something about this?!" Amelia screamed, ripping Violet's book in two.

"I wasn't done with that." Violet murmured.

"TALK!!" Amelia roared furiously.

"I told him to give you the message earlier, but I didn't think he would deliver it." Violet informed nonchalantly. "The Emerald Scanner picked up the trace of another Chaos Emerald somewhere in the Mongolian mountains. He's probably gone there to get it."

"Well, that's not bad." Amelia said calmly.

"Oh, and Nazo's also at that same point." Violet added.

"WHAT?!" Amelia exclaimed.

"When I get back, remind me to kill you." Metal glared.

The blue mech quickly dashed out of the room, leaving Violet to fend off the psychopathic mother.

* * *

Meanwhile, the scene returns to the battle field within the Mongolian mountains. Emerl skidded backwards on his feet with several fragments of his arm broken off, revealing the wires and organs inside. The fearless Gizoid struggled to stand, but his limbs seemed to argue against his attempts. He managed to glimpse a flash of silver before Nazo send a powerful kick to his chin – the Dark Ruler reverted to his standard from. Emerl's limbs flailed randomly, threatening to rip apart at any given moment. Scanning his own body, Emerl learned that all his motor functions had been shut down.

"You...you..." Emerl stammered.

"Now, now, little one." Nazo said mockingly, patting the mech's head. "You have gone through enough. Why don't you just admit defeat while you are still behind?"

"Go to hell." Emerl said spitefully.

"I've been Hell before." Nazo said nonchalantly. "It's actually a nice place when you learn to take control. Although, the Council of Death weren't too happy about accepting me." He grinned maniacally. "Perhaps they will offer you safer passage."

Gathering a small fraction of his Chaos, the God of Darkness formed a red blade of energy around his hand. As he reeled the blade backwards and swung, a shot of lightning suddenly appeared and pierced his palm, eliminating the death tool. Nazo watched the burn mark on his palm heal itself instantaneously and shifted his gaze to the source of the attack. Metal stood present at the end of the field – his electrified claw held forward and the yellow Chaos Emerald in his other claw.

"Well, if it isn't Metal Sonic." Nazo said pleasingly. "I haven't seen you since our delightful encounter in Station Square."

"I have not come for pleasantries, Nazo." Metal glared, clutching his fist. "I want my son back. I even brought the Chaos Emerald to use as a bargaining chip."

"That is very well thought-out, Metal." Nazo smirked, taking a seat on the fractured mech. "But at the moment, you have something that interests me more than Chaos Emeralds."

"What?" Metal questioned.

"My memories." Nazo answered seriously. "You stole them from me during the incident with the Ark of the Cosmos. I demand them back."

"But I can't..." Metal whispered softly. "These memories he possesses are far too great to surrender. If anyone were to unlock their secrets..." But one look at the shattered remains of his son seemed to settle his resolve and called out to the Dark Ruler. "All right! You have a deal!"

Nazo said nothing, but the superior look on his expression disgusted the metallic doppelganger. As slowly and carefully as possible, Metal approached the silver hedgehog and kneeled with hesitation. Emerl watched fearfully – Metal usually bowed to no one. The God of Darkness rested his hand on the machine's forehead and summoned several tendrils of green energy from the mech's cranium and through his forearm. Metal grunted and hissed from the pain, but did nothing to retaliate. When the process was finished, Nazo released his hold and dropped Metal to his knees. The blue clones panted heavily while watching his hated enemy take the red and yellow Chaos Emeralds into his hand.

"And that makes four." Nazo grinned. "It was a pleasure doing business with you."

And with that, he disappeared into flash of light.

"Father, I am so sorry." Emerl said apologetically as Metal gathered his weakened body. "Because of me, we lost our only Chaos Emerald and Nazo retrieved his memories."

"Yes, it is your fault." Metal nodded; Emerl lowed his gaze in shame. "But it is also mine."

"Huh?" Emerl questioned in surprise.

"I was not very supportive of you." Metal explained. "Your mother has told me hundred of times that I should focus on my family instead of a lifeless emerald. It is only now that I see she was right. I can only hope that you can forgive me."

"There's nothing really to forgive." Emerl sighed.

With all things said, Emerl allowed himself to fall into Sleep Mode.

* * *

The final scene shifts to the dark and dreary dimension of the Dark Ruler's castle. Nazo remained seated at his marble throne, staring happily into the four glistening emeralds that hovered above him. But his thoughts were not of the gems of power. The chess board he normally used to track movements of everyone was now altered to only show all artifacts of power. The Seven World Rings remained with the Heroes, the Seven Sol Emeralds seemed to be traveling with an unknown character, and the Chaos Emeralds were scattered. He noticed other items of power that resembled swords, but ignored them. As of now, his attention was mostly focused on the Master Emerald. He did not even look away as Mephiles appeared to his side.

"My lord, is everything well?" Mephiles asked worried.

"Oh, everything is better than I had hoped." Nazo said darkly. "Now we can begin our final phase."

"You mean..."

"Yes..." Nazo hissed. "My memories have been restored. It is time to start planning Project: Endgame."

**

* * *

**

The final phase of darkness draws closer. Will Nazo succeed in collecting all the emeralds? Will Emerl learn to master the powers of his father's techniques? And what is Project: Endgame? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!

**Please, read and review.**


	77. Relative Consequence

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Rodrigo © Kiba Sniper

Chapter Seventy-Seven: Relative Consequence

The scene opens to the wide-open plains of Africa. Untouched by the restrictions and technology of the bustling cities, the native wildlife could roam free to hunt and graze. From the prowling cheetahs crouching in the tall grass to the ever watching birds perches in the distant trees, they seem oblivious to the outside world. And who better to destroy the days of peace than Rodrigo the Crow, traitor of Babylon and founder of the Lunar Tribe. Earlier that day, Rodrigo had been commended by his new master to retrieve a Chaos Emerald. Now unlike Corrupt, Rodrigo was loyal, but there was one problem...

"Where the hell am I?!" Rodrigo screamed – he couldn't read a map. He ruffled the parchment, which was four thousand years out of date. "Ok, I'm supposed to take a right at Atlantis, fly straight past the Pit of Despair, and take another right on Mount Olympus." He glanced back and forth across the plains. "Ok, so where am I exactly?"

As he shifted his gaze to the dusty parchment again, he was unaware of the prowling gazes. A pack of leopards were crouching across the ground to keep themselves hidden from their prey's gaze, despite their ignorance of their opponent. As Rodrigo moved his beak closer to the paper, the ferocious felines pounced. But just as they were a few inches from the prey, the air suddenly thickened and the leopards were slammed into the ground, their bones smashed to dust. Rodrigo took no notice of the occurring incident and crushed the map into his fists.

"Damn it all!" Rodrigo cursed. "I knew I should have spent more time learning to read instead of performed experiments on those shadow invaders! What I need is someone intelligent, but frightfully weak." He noticed a shadow pass over the ground and looked up to spot the Tornado III. "That's convenient."

Meanwhile, another story takes places in the skies. Tails was tracing the clouds in his specially designed vehicle – which was redesigned after his previous two were destroyed. The half-demon kitsune was using the onboard computer to remain in contact with his rival/partner, Wave the Swallow.

"How are systems on your side, shorty?" Wave asked.

"Perfect!" Tails cheered, flipping a few switches. "After four months of planning and search, I think were finally made and economical breakthrough! An engine that doesn't run on gas, sunlight, electricity, or wind! A unique and clean energy source!"

"Calm down before you wet yourself." Wave chuckled.

"Sorry." Tails scratched his head sheepishly. "But Hybrid really deserves most of the credit. We probably wouldn't have figured it out if it wasn't for his universal polarity theory."

"We'll mention him in our acceptance speech." Wave said shortly. "Now head back so we can do one final scan."

"You got it." Tails grinned.

"Sweet ride." The half-demon kitsune jumped in his seat and stared to the right; Rodrigo was sitting on the wing. "Mind if I borrow it? Just don't expect me to return it."

"Not happening!" Tails growled.

Quickly grabbing the controls, Tails commanded the Tornado III to spin into a loop, throwing the menacing crow into the clouds. Unfortunately, Rodrigo used the power of gravity to make himself weightless, allowing him to fly freely through the air. Off to the distance, he spotted Tails and his plane attempting to make a breakaway. The dark avian pushed out his palm to the distant aircraft and released a pulse of concentrated gravity. The wings of the Tornado II were consequently crushed by the increased pressure and forced the main body to make a strong dive towards the ground. Though caught off guard by the unexpected assault, Tails forced himself to steer the nose of the Tornado II upwards to avoid any terminal damage. By skill and luck, Tails managed to land his plane with only a few scratches and dents – the animals fled on the spot.

"Whew, that was a close one." Tails sighed.

"Now that wasn't very nice." Rodrigo said playfully upon landing. "All I did was stop to ask for directions."

"You really expect me to believe that?" Tails glared.

"Not really." Rodrigo shrugged. "But you would be doing me a favor by telling me where to find the Chaos Emeralds."

"Like I would help you!" Tails growled.

"All right, have it your way." Rodrigo grinned wickedly.

And before he could realize what had occurred, Tails was send flying across the plains, snapping through a deserted tree. The half-demon kitsune groaned while carefully groping the confines of the backpack he carried. As Rodrigo made the mistake of slowly approaching his opponent, the genius fox suddenly whipped his hand around to toss and handful of golden rings. Having never battled Tails before, the Babylonian crow merely swatted them away. He quickly realized his mistake when the rings exploded on contact, sending Rodrigo stumbled into a nearby watering hole. The Lunar Rogue emerged from the pond with a malevolent stare – the right side of his face was burning red.

"Ok, so the kid has a few tricks up his sleeves." Rodrigo commented nonchalantly while shaking his feathers free of moisture. "But I learn from my mistakes. I would be so easy to be fooled twice."

"Then how come you lost to Rakis?" Tails taunted.

"A wise guy, eh?" Rodrigo grimaced, thrusting out his hand. "I think it's time you learn some manners."

As one could expect, the Babylonian traitor unleashed a wave of gravity to crush the kitsune into the ground, forming a twenty meter crater. Being physically challenged, the two-tailed fox was forced into the crust of the Earth –his bone rattling from the shattering blow. Judging by the force exerted from the attack, it was a miracle that he wasn't dead.

"Can't...move..." Tails groaned.

"I'm guessing you had experience in this sort of thing." Rodrigo commented interestingly. "A lot of first timers are killed when faced with the full power of Gravity Control. Of course, you surviving from firsthand experience is amazing alone."

"Why...are you still...talking?" Tails grunted; he was somehow pushing himself to his knees. "I thought...you were going...to finish...me off."

""I would love to do that, but I love watching people squirm." Rodrigo stated pleasurably, increasing the pressure on the kitsune. "I'm not in any hurry. I can stand here all day and wait for you to die."

If there was one thing Tails had gained from the years with Sonic, its his stubbornness. Tails had so many dreams to live for: finding his family, creating his own, and creating a world safe for his friends to live in. The two-tailed kitsune was not about to allow this avian freak to ruin all his hard-earned work. And using his thirst for survival, Tails' adrenaline began pumping at an alarming rate, unintentionally activating his secret powers. Even by Rodrigo's standards, the transformation was equally as interesting as it was frightening. Tails' fur had transformed from sunny yellow to burning orange with his pupils vanishing, leaving only pool of crimson-red. The demonic fox effortlessly pushed against Rodrigo's gravity control and shattered the technique entirely with a vicious roar.

"Ok, if I wasn't scared senseless, that would be kinda cool." Rodrigo stated bluntly.

The enraged demon snapped its head at Rodrigo's voice and caught the dark avian in his sight. Sensing the danger for them the beast's gaze, Rodrigo clapped his hands together and formed a thin within his beak. But due to enhanced speed, Demon Tails effortlessly avoided the shot and raced across the plain – the beam fractured the ground. The demonic two-tails swiped his hand – his claws exposed through his ripped gloves – but Rodrigo released a pulse of gravity to push him away. The tactic would have worked against a normal opponent, but Demon Tails stabbed his namesakes into the ground, keeping him in place. In an unexpected twist, the enraged demon used his contained energies to rebound the attack and send Rodrigo flying. The Babylonian crow caught himself in midair, but was slammed to the ground when Tails appeared and smashed both fists against his skull.

"Ow, I'm going to be feeling that in a week." Rodrigo groaned. And hand gripped his neck and forced him backwards into the ground; Tails snarled menacingly. "You know, there's a great invention called mouthwash. You might want to look into it."

"Raugh!!" Tails roared.

The twin-tailed demon snapped his teeth close to the crow's head, but Rodrigo stopped him by punching the kit in the throat. Even when in demon form, the young kitsune still had his weak point. Demon Tails moved to the side and gave a coughing fit, intentionally releasing his captured prey. And before he could make up for his temporary weakness, the Babylonian traitor pressed his palm into the demon's back and released a pulse of gravity. Tails smashed through a pair of boulders and toppled into the rock fragments – his demon powers fading.

"Eh, you're not so tough." Rodrigo sniggered, picking up the children by the scruff of his neck. "Maybe if I figure out what give you those powers, I can figure out what went wrong with my experiments."

But while the battle had ended in the physical world, a new one was taking place within Tails' mind.

* * *

With soft groan, the two-tailed fox slowly sat up, rubbing the sore spot on his forehead. His first shock upon awakening was learning that he was no longer in the African plain. He was lying in a dark and cold room that appeared to have a floor flooded by a foot of water. Apprehensive, the young kitsune moved to his feet.

"Hello..." Tails called shakily; his voice echoed. "Is anyone here?"

"I am here, child."

Tails whirled around and fell backwards in fright. This was perhaps the most terrifying experience in his entire life. Crouched low to the floor with a horrifyingly malevolent grin was a massive fox with razor-sharp teeth and blood-red fur. If Tails wasn't so scared of the beast, he would have noticed the nine lashing tails in the background.

"W-who are you?" Tails stammered.

"There is no reason to be fearful, child." The fox said lowly. "I am Kyuubi no Kitsune, the father to your mother."

"My mother?" Tails repeated, sounding hopeful. "Does that mean you know where she is?"

"That all depends." Kyuubi growled.

"Depends on what?" Tails asked cautiously.

"I am calling to you from a distant land." Kyuubi explained. "I have been hindered by the humans, rendering me unable to search for my family. I have been sealed inside the body of a human child because my appearance frightened them."

"What can I do?" Tails asked hopefully.

"I have discovered that I can transfer my essence to another of my bloodline." Kyuubi stated, sounding unusually malicious. "I have been unable to make contact with your mother until I noticed your powers leaking. If I transfer my essence to you to track your mother and I will be free to roam the mountains as I did in days long past."

"I don't know." Tails said uncertainly.

"I cannot only find your mother, but I can save you." Kyuubi tempted. "I have noticed you struggling to defeat your opponent. Give your spirit to me and I can protect your loved ones. Allow me into your heart and I will save you from your pain."

"I...I...uh..." Tails murmured unconsciously.

The longer Tails stared into his grandfather's eyes, the more he began to realize the truth in his words. With the power of the legendary Nine-Tailed Fox, he was becomes something even Nazo feared: a god. But as the naïve kitsune reached out to touch the demon, he was suddenly pulled back by the scruff of his neck. Kyuubi snarled furiously – his eye narrowed in rage.

"YOU!!" Kyuubi roared.

"I think we've had enough of you." An elderly voice said softly.

Out of the corner of his eye, Tails could see a grey hand covered in a fingerless black glove being raised to the fox demon. A moment later, Kyuubi was forcefully expelled from Tails' in a wisp of red energy. As he was placed back onto the wet floor, the young kitsune quickly turned backwards on his heels. He was confronted by a youthful grey fox that seemed surprisingly familiar to Tails, but his eyes revealed intelligence far beyond his age. While the half-demon fox staggered in fright, the elder man placed a gentle hand on his shoulder – all fear disappeared completely.

"You know, I always feared something like this would happen." The man stated calmly. "After meeting him the first time, I had hoped I would never see Kyuubi again." He placed a hand on Tails' head. "But there is one benefit to his return: I got to see how my son had grown up."

"Your son?!" Tails exclaimed in surprise. "But then you are..."

"That's right." The man nodded happily. "I am your father: Master Nyrox. I am pleased to see that you are well, Kyuta."

"Kyuta?" Tails repeated.

"That was the name you were born with." Nyrox smiled, ruffling his son's bangs. "It was your mother, Kyira, who named you. She knew you would eventually carry on the legacy of the Kitsunes. Of course, I had hoped your would gain control of it."

"Then that thing really was my grandpa." Tails said sadly. "Then that means I'm..."

"You're only half-demon." Nyrox answered. "While your mother was pure-blooded, I was a mortal. Naturally, your grandfather was very upset by Kyira's choice in a mate. But my power and knowledge was too great for him and he had no choice but to accept me as a member of his clan." He chuckled lightly. "Of course, I did stand out because of my lack of tails."

"You mean these things are natural." Tails asked, showing off his namesake.

"It is for the demon clan." Nyrox nodded. "As a fox demon grows, he inherits more tails as his strength increases. But at your age, there is a sign of concern. Under natural circumstances, a kitsune should have three tails at your age."

"I kinda use my brain instead of my brawn." Tails said sheepishly. Suddenly, he turned serious as a thought occurred in his mind. "But I do want to know one thing: where have you and mom been all this time?"

"It hasn't been an easy time, Kyuta." Nyrox said mournfully. "People were prejudice against the demons and forced them back into the Myoto Mountains, their only sanctuary. They only feared the nine Tailed-Demons. The people hated your mother for being the daughter of Kyuubi. And by the time you were born, they finally took action."

"What happened?" Tails asked sorrowfully.

"The humans called in their military to attack our home." Nyrox continued. "Your mother and I were easily able to repel them, but one small mistake ended up in the loss of our home. We searched the wreckage, but we found no trace of you. My only guess is that you somehow activated your demonic powers to escape. Naturally, Kyira was furious and slaughtered the soldiers without remorse. After realizing the danger, Kyira thought it was best if we went our separate ways."

"All this time..." Tails chocked; tears escaping from his eyes. "I wanted to know who my family was and no one ever told me that they were forced apart because of something we have no control over."

"It isn't over just yet, Kyuta." Nyrox said softly. "Kyira is looking for you and I am also search with your sibling. One day, we shall be reunited again." He embraced his child. "I will not rest until I meet you in the physical world."

"Promise?" Tails asked childishly.

"With all my heart." Nyrox answered.

Tails couldn't resist smiling at his father and wiped away the tears from his eyes. As the room began to fade, Tails called out to his father one last time.

"One question: is this real or is it all in my head?"

"Of course it's in your head." Nyrox laughed. "But that doesn't make it any less real."

* * *

The scene returns to the African plain, only a few seconds after Rodrigo's apparent victory over the kitsune. The Babylonian crow was tracing the fox's throat with his fingers when he noticed something unusual about the child. The same aura from the previous fight had returned, but it was no longer forcing its way into Tails' body. Instead, it formed a protective coat within his fur, transforming it into a scarlet-red color. Just from the touch of the half-demon kitsune, Rodrigo could feel his hand burning and reluctantly withdrew it. Big mistake. Before he even touched the ground, Tails snapped his head up and drilled a powerful jab into Rodrigo's cheek. The Lunar Rogue skidded backwards on his feet, wiping away the blood leaking from his maw.

"What the hell?!" Rodrigo exclaimed. "I had you, brat! Who the hell do you think you are?!"

"Wow, and you're supposed to be a genius." Tails chuckled menacingly.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Rodrigo growled.

"Perhaps I should refresh your memory." Tails grinned deviously. "I am Kyuta Kitsune, Heir of the Nine-Tailed Fox!!"

Rodrigo's eyes nearly bugled out of their socket, but not from Tails' proclamation. Like a cell, something began to separate from one of the child's tails until ripping apart with a nasty squelch. Against all logic, Tails had inherited a third tail.

"Ok, now that's just wrong." Rodrigo commented.

Of course, that proved to be the last statement he could make in a while. The demonic kitsune, now in full possession of his powers, crawled on all fours and scampered towards the dark avian. Rodrigo released a pulse wave of gravity to crush the fox, but the energies around his body easily shattered the attack. He jumped into the air as Tails swung one of his menacing claws, but was shortly followed behind and felt a sickening crack in his leg. He looked down to find Tails strangling the blood out of his leg and fired a beam from his mouth aimed directly for the demon's forehead. The beam was not able to pierce Tails' skull, but it did manage free Rodrigo's legs. The half-demon kitsune landed on the ground with a thunderous thud, glaring into the sky.

"Ok, no one said anything about demons." Rodrigo complained.

"What's the matter?!" Tails called tauntingly. "The little birdy scared?!"

"That might work on someone like Tomo and Nack." Rodrigo stated pointedly. "But I am not s easily fooled."

"I guess you have a point." Tails nodded. "You would have to be pretty stupid to fall for insults."

"Exactly." Rodrigo agreed.

"But you are stupid enough to stand still!" Tails grinned.

"Say wha?" Rodrigo questioned confused.

The demonic kitsune reeled back his hand, gathered a large amount of energy, and thrusted it forward. This only proved his demonic relation as the energy reshaped itself in the form of a menacing claw. Rodrigo was caught off guard by this unusual entity and was grappled in midair before being forced to the ground. The Babylonian traitor crashed into the Earth with a large mound of dust forming in his wake. Because of his enhanced vision, Tails could see a few wisps of darkness escaping – Rodrigo had escaped. With the threat passed, the three-tailed fox returned to his regular color and fell backwards in exhaustion, smiling happily.

"Sonic is never going to believe this." Tails whispered.

He fell to sleep.

* * *

Meanwhile, the scene alternates to a far-off region somewhere in the mountains of Russia. Xenot as seated against the makeshift fire, trying to stave off the brutal cold. He may have worn a protective suit, but that did not stop the atmosphere from affecting him. A few short moments later, Nyrox returned and took a seat next to his apprentice – the fire crackled lively in his presence.

"What took you so long?" Xenot asked shakily.

"I could feel the Nine-Tailed Fox making another chance to escape." Nyrox explained. "He tried to free himself by using your brother as a vessel. With Kyuta in his possession, he would be able to regain his true form."

"Is Kyuta all right?" Xenot asked apprehensively.

"There is no need to worry." Nyrox waved. "I managed to form a barrier around your brother's mind before leaving. I don't think Kyuubi will make another attempt anytime soon."

"Do you think we will ever see each other?" Xenot asked hopefully.

"We will, my child." Nyrox stated certainly. "You just need to have faith."

**

* * *

**

The bond between loved ones can never be broken. Will Tails learn to master his newfound powers? Will the Kyuubi make another attempt for freedom? And will the broken family be reunited? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!

**Please, read and review.**


	78. Clouded Future, Part 1

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Chapter Seventy-Eight: Clouded Future, Part 1

The scene opens to a full moon night in the high mountains that overlooked the sanctuary of Silver Valley. The mountains were naturally a good place when someone wanted an unobstructed view and the source of the purest water in the world. Unfortunately, the current matter accounted for neither of them. A blurred object rushed past one of the peaks with a second, much larger, blur followed behind. The first creature skidded to a halt as she nearly fell over the edge of a cliff. The creature was a dark-yellow mongoose female with shoulder length purple hair. She wears a thickening black top with green strips on the shoulders, dirt-brown hiking shorts, a pair of teal elbow-length gloves, and green boots with yellow laces.

"Ok, I think I took a wrong turn at the last peak." The mongoose mumbled.

"Oh, but I think things are finally going my way." A second, stronger voice stated.

The mongoose girl stiffened, yet looked irritable as she turned on her heels. The larger creature that had followed her through the mountains landed with a heavy thud, mostly due to the weapon resting on his shoulders. The man was a large sapphire-blue shark with a yellow scar over his left eye. He wore a black coat with white flames at the hood, cuffs, and hem, matching black boots and gloves, and a green ring on his right thumb. His weapon was an oddity itself: a large cleaving blade formed from red scales with razor teeth resting on the edge. The mongoose girl raised her fists for protection as the shark stabbed his blade into the ground.

"You've been quite the nuisance, Mina." The shark said playfully. "But I think this chase has dragged out long enough."

"Actually..." Mina smirked. "I'd say the chase is only starting."

"Aren't you a bit overconfident?" Kuanga sniggered, releasing his hold of the strange blade. "But I know your weaknesses, Mina. You're helpless in environments without plant life."

"Look around you, meat breath." Mina said confidently. "We're in a mountain with suitable oxygen levels and the perfect height for sunlight. You wouldn't think there would be any plant thriving in this valley."

"Damn." The shark hissed.

Obviously threatened by her worlds, the shark warrior kicked at the broadside of his blade, tossing it to the air. As her opponent reached for his weapon, Mina clapped her hands together. From this action, green neon markings appeared around her body and her eyes transformed from violet to emerald green. The glowing mongoose raised her hands to the sky, summoning a jungle of vines jumping from the rock. The slithering plants managed to capture the shark around his limbs and around his chest, but the swordsman proved to be a formidable foe. The vine snapped from the strength of their prey, catching Mina off guard. The aquatic swordsman swiped his blade across Mina's chest, but not deep enough to actually cut her skin. The glowing mongoose staggered backwards in shock, unintentionally falling backwards over the cliff. With a sharp gasp, the shark swordsman reached for the girl, but his hand fell a few feet short. He watched as the mongoose plummeted into the fissure below – her glow faded.

"Ooh, that's not good." The shark groaned.

"Allowed her to slip by again, Kuanga." A cool voice called.

The shark, now known as Kuanga, flinched at the voice and hesitantly stared over his shoulder. His gaze instantly fell upon a crimson-red bat with a familiar white crescent on his forehead. He wore a similar attire to Kuanga, but refused to don the gloves and boots to show off his claws and wore a white ring on his right middle finger.

"I tried to catch her, Terro." Kuanga sputtered. "She slipped and..."

"She's not dead, Kuanga." Terro interrupted. "She is still alive somewhere in this valley. I'm sure you could smell her blood from this distance."

"If she is alive, yes." Kuanga nodded. "But we don't have much time. The leader is expecting us to return my sundown tomorrow."

"Then we'll have to finish by then." Terro responded.

* * *

The scene alternates to the lower region of Silver Valley during the evening. Our sight transfers to a glistening blue lake surrounded by a thriving forest. The peace loving animals would either graze on the plentiful grass or jump from branch to branch for a meeting with their friends. But our attention focuses on a different group of animals. Amy Rose led Rouge, Knuckles, and Sonic through the cluttered trees and stopped at the edge of the crystal lake. As Rouge took in the sights, Sonic and Knuckles could only see the truckload of supplies their girlfriend/fiancé forced them to carry.

"Oh, it's so beautiful." Amy said cheerfully. "I told you this would be the perfect spot for a picnic."

"You could have made the trip a little shorter." Rouge said irritably while polishing her nails. "I'm tired just thinking about it."

"You're tired!" Knuckles exclaimed. "We're the ones that had to carry you all the way up here!"

"And you did a good job, Knuckie." Rouge said flirtatiously.

"How exactly did they manage to trick us into this trip?" Sonic questioned.

"They didn't trick us." Knuckles answered bluntly. "Amy threatened to kill us if we did go."

"Oh yeah." Sonic nodded dimly.

After taking a few minutes to set up, the small group of heroes spent the rest of their time enjoying themselves. With Nazo and Eggman attacking more often than usual, it was nice to spend an evening to relax and not worry about the world's problems. For the first time, Rouge didn't mind getting dirty as she sat in the grass, listening to the wind blow through the trees. Knuckles decided to take up fishing near the lake and caught a number of fish. But he always threw them back – he only did the activity to relax. Meanwhile, Sonic and Amy spent most of their time together to talk about their life and what to do after Nazo was defeated. But when they reached the subject on children, Sonic quickly took up bird watching. Overall, it was a peaceful afternoon.

"You know, it's been a long time since we've been like this." Sonic commented. He was lying back on the blanket to watch the clouds. "Just sitting around without having to save the world. We should do this more often."

"With Nazo still around, that isn't likely to happen." Knuckles grumbled.

"Aw, stop such a sourpuss, knucklehead." Rouge shook.

"I know that we'll take out Nazo." Amy responded certainly. "Because the power of good will always triumph over evil!"

"She's been reading to many fairy tales." Knuckles mumbled. He lurched forward slightly when his fishing pole gave a heavy tug. "Whoa, this is a big one!"

"It's not another rock, is it?" Rouge grimaced, rubbing the bump on her forehead.

"No way!" Knuckles shouted, struggling to keep his place. "This is way too big to be a rock! I think I hit the mother of all fish!"

Even Sonic couldn't resist glancing at the struggling echidna. Knuckles was revered as one of the strongest in the world and it was unusual to show signs of resistance. The hot-blooded echidna jumped down from the rock he was sitting on and pressed his foot against it to keep himself from falling forward. And with one mighty tug, the prey was ripped from the lake and sent flying into the air – Knuckles fell backwards on his head. And the next thing Sonic knew, he was crushed beneath the weight of an unknown object relatively close to his size. He pushed the creature off and stared. The mongoose girl from the mountains was lying unconscious on the ground with Knuckle's fishing hook attached to the back of her shirt.

"Whoa, what happened to her?" Rouge asked curiously. "Is she even still alive?"

"Well, she's breathing properly." Knuckles answered while removing his hook. "She must have been tangled in the water plants hidden at the bottom of the lake. That would explain why it was so difficult to get her out."

"Where'd she come from?" Amy asked.

"My guess would be the mountains." Knuckles responded. "She must have fallen off somewhere in the heart of the canyon and fallen into the river. But even from a fall like that, it's a miracle she didn't suffer any injury."

"Maybe she..." Sonic began before the mongoose groaned. "Hold up, I think she's coming to."

The four heroes hung over the unknown female in anticipation. As the mongoose girl rolled over onto her back, she covered her eyes as the sunlight pierced her gaze. When she regained her focus, Mina found it a bit unusual to wake up with four random creatures staring at her like a turtle on its back. Her eyes traveled from Knuckles, Rouge, and Amy – she felt disturbed at their closeness – but stopped when she discovered Sonic. Only a split second passed before the mongoose girl jumped on the hedgehog hero, attempting to hug him to death.

"Rush, you're here!" Mina shouted joyfully. "I knew you would come looking for me eventually!"

"Hey – get off – me!" Sonic grunted, attempting to push her away.

"Who do you think you are, hussy?!" Amy screamed, summoning her hammer in a puff of smoke. "Get you sleazy hands off my boyfriend!"

"Now, Amy, is that necessary?" Rouge asked nervously.

"Who are you calling sleazy, tramp." Mina countered – the heroes stiffened in fear. "This little blue hedgehog is my boyfriend. And if you want to take him, you'll have to come get him."

Sonic finally managed to break free. He, along with Knuckles and Rouge, scrambled backwards towards the rock hidden around the lake. It was considered suicide to talk back against Amy and this girl was as good as dead. The rosette hedgehog dashed forward at breakneck speed, swinging her hammer around with her monstrous strength. Against all odds, Mina managed to calculate her swings and skipped overhead – Amy collapsed a large pine. Upon landing, the mongoose girl swung her leg around and slammed her heel into the hedgehog's cheek – the heroes gasped in shock. Next to Nazo and Kumori, no one had even been brave or stupid enough to attack Amy. The rosy rascal was also surprised by this new development while wiping away the blood that escaped from her maw.

"You know, you're really impressive" Mina commented.

"You just got one lucky shot." Amy spat, raising her hammer above her head. "You won't be so lucky this time."

"I'll believe it when I see it." Mina sniggered.

Unfortunately, she wasn't able to see it. Before the arrogant mongoose could even blink, Amy zipped across the clearing and slammed her hammer into her chest. Mina was thoroughly surprised by the assault and did nothing to soften her crash against the wall of trees. Groaning from her new injury, Mina slowly sat herself up against the large pine, but he rest was short-lived. The mongoose girl was forced to grab the bark of the tree and flipped backwards up the trunk as Amy continued with another lethal blow. Mina growled spitefully at the pink hedgehog and jumped directly overhead – the two females tumbled over one another. Meanwhile, the rest of the group was cowardly observing the match in safety.

This is crazy." Knuckles mumbled silently. "We have to put a stop to this."

"Wait!" Sonic exclaimed, throwing out his hand to stop the echidna. "Not just yet."

"What are you..." Knuckles said slow before realization came to him. "Ooh, I get it."

"Men..." Rouge muttered disgustedly.

Meanwhile, the fight between the two females did not appear become any closer to an end. Mina gained the advantage by pushing Amy below her, but the rosy hedgehog kicked her overhead. She summoned her signature Piko-Piko Hammer to her hand and raised the colossal weapon before swing it downwards. The light mongoose barely jumped back in time and jumped on the head of the hammer, thrusting her foot directly for Amy's forehead. But before she could reach her intended target, the rosette female twisted around faster than normal and slammed her hammer into Mina's ribs. The mongoose swore she could hear two of her bones snapping. She was tossed over the grass, stumbled over a cluster of rocks and crashed upside-down against one of the towering pines. Mina slumped to the ground, noticing Amy standing over her with a menacing glare.

"Now you will stay away from my boyfriend." Amy growled.

"You are only deluding yourself." Mina mumbled. "A strong warrior like him would never be interested in a worthless tramp like you."

Everyone who noticed the massive vein in Amy's forehead would cower at her presence. Even Sonic and the others, who were a great distance away, jumped into the lake. The enraged hedgehog raised her hammer, which somehow grew twice its normal size, and brought it down with all her rage and fury. But when she wasn't looking, the neon marks appeared over Mina's face. The hammer collided against its target with an echoing thud. It was an unusual prospect that even drew the attention of the cowering heroes. Amy stare in shock when she realized her intended target was covered in a suit of fine polished wood.

"What in the...?" Amy gasped as she stepped backwards.

"Surprised?" Mina laughed humorously; her voice mixed with another. "This prove how much he and I have in common. I have these special powers and you have your little toy hammer."

"No, it only proves how much of a freak you are!" Amy snapped.

"Don't call me that!" Mina screamed furiously; Amy jumped back in surprise. "Don't you dare call me a freak!"

Mina anger seemed to flow through the plants that surrounded her – even the trees began to shudder. Against the creeks of the forest pines and the rush of the flowing waters, Amy was to preoccupied to notice another attacker. Then without warning, a pair of vines snapped from the nearest brush and constricted around her ankles. Amy was swiftly thrusted upside-down into the air, giving her audience an unobstructed view under her dress – Sonic did nothing to stop the nosebleed. The pink hedgehog pushed up her dress in embarrassment while not bothering to worry about her opponent. Mina, still protected by her Elm Armor, reshaped her hand into the form a large spiral spear around her arm. The mongoose warrior commanded the vines to lower her target with a single wave – her quills brushed against the ground. It was only when Sonic realized that Mina was attacking with her spiral spear did he break into action. At the last minute, the blue hero shattered the wooden spear with his right foot and pressed his heal into the mongoose's cheek under her armor. While Mina skidded across the grass with her face while Amy dropped safely into Sonic's arms.

"Oh, thanks, Sonic!" Amy shouted happily, nuzzling into Sonic's chest.

"Hey, it was nothing." Sonic said embarrassingly as he set Amy to the ground. He felt a painful thump on the back of his head and looked to his right, where Mina was raising her fist to his head. "Yow! What was that for?!"

"What was that for?!" Mina screamed, kicking at Sonic's shin. "You've got some nerve attacking a lady, Rush!"

"Rush?" Sonic repeated painfully. "Who's Rush? My name is Sonic the Hedgehog?"

"Who?" Mina asked confused.

"You've never heard of Sonic?" Amy asked amazingly.

"No, but he looks almost exactly like Rush." Mina answered.

"So this is just a case of mistaken identity." Knuckles said bravely after finally leaving his hiding spot. "But since this was all a minor misunderstanding, we can put this all behind us......right?"

Amy and Mina glared at one another with intense fury – you could feel the heat resonating from them. Though acting as if they would rather be farther away from each other, the duo females reluctantly shook hand with each other. Judging by the equal winces of pain on their expression, it seemed like they were try to crush each other's fingers. Rouge and Sonic forced the two to separate and gently asked them to take a seat on the blanket. When Knuckles offered the mongoose girl some food, he nearly lost his hand – she told them that she hadn't eaten in several days. The group of five enjoyed a semi-peaceful meal that was only troubled by the occasional glares between the females. It was Rouge who was brave enough to start up a conversation.

"So...who are you?" She asked.

"The name's Mina Mongoose." Mina answered shortly.

"I'm Rouge the Bat." Rouge replied helpfully. "And you've already met Sonic, Knuckles, and Amy."

"What are you doing all the way out here?" Knuckles questioned. "Aren't your parents worried."

"I doubt it." Mina murmured sadly. "They were the one that gave me up in the first place."

"What?!" Amy exclaimed, sounding genuinely sorry. "But that isn't right. What kind of heartless monsters would just willingly abandon their own child?!"

"You saw what I can do." Mina grimaced as she stared at the withering plants to her right. She waved her hand over the flowers, which revived a moment later. "I have powers no one else does. Because I can use these powers, I am a freak of nature, a monster to my people. My parents were ashamed to have a demon daughter and left me behind."

"Hey, you're not that different." Sonic stated pointedly. "I have super speed, Shadow in nearly-immortal, and knucklehead has nearly limitless strength. Being different means your just special."

"Rush told me the same thing." Mina smiled. "It's amazing how much you two are alike."

"So, what exactly are you doing in Silver Valley?" Amy questioned.

"I was trying to escape from some people." Mina answered.

"From who?" Sonic asked.

Before the mongoose girl could answer, a series of scrapping noises emerged from the depths of the forest. Mina, who somehow recognized the noise, grabbed the heroes at once and jumped into the lake. And not a moment too soon. A shower of red scales sliced through the mass of trunks and shredded the peaceful picnic the heroes had hoped to enjoy. The heroes had dragged themselves onto the shore when they witnessed the assault and watched astounded as they flew backwards. Kuanga the Shark appeared at the edge of the new clearing, holding a handle, with Terro at his side. The aquatic warrior held out the handle, calling the scales to reform his sword.

"Them." Mina answered.

"You have eluded us long enough, Mina." Terro said coolly. "Now, you will come quietly."

"Fat chance of that happening!" Knuckles roared, jumping in front with his fists raised. "If you want to get to her, you'll have to go through us!"

"Sounds like a challenge." Kuanga grinned deviously, turning to his partner. "Can I enjoy a few minutes with them."

"You've already had your fun, Terro stated coldly; Kuanga growled in irritancy.

"Who are these guys?" Sonic asked silently to Mina.

"They are called Terro and Kuanga." Mina informed, never taking her eyes away from the duo. "They are part of an organization called the Hakumei. Each One is assigned to capture a certain person and Kuanga is the one sent to track me down."

"I've never even heard of the Hakumei." Rouge stated strangely. "And I know every underground organization. Why would they be interested in kidnapping kids."

"Because of the Chaos Sparks." Terro answered aloud; his ears allowed him to hear their conversation.

"Chas Sparks?" Sonic repeated. "That sounds like something Nazo would make up."

"You're close." Kuanga chuckled.

"Since we know you cannot defeat us, I believe you deserve an explanation." Terro said in a drawling voice. " You see, the reason you do not know of the Hakumei's existence is because it hasn't been formed yet. The Hakumei won't make themselves known to the world for another twenty years."

"Twenty years?!" Amy exclaimed in shock. "You mean, you're from the future?!"

"Mina as well." Kuanga nodded; Mina lowered her eyes. "The reason the Hakumei are kidnapping people is because they contain thirteen special creatures called Chaos Sparks. They are dragons formed from pure energy and control a separate element. When they were first released into the world, they created mayhem and destruction at every turn."

"So what happened?" Knuckles questioned.

"You, Shadow, Blue, Tikal, and Sonic contained them into thirteen separate bodies." Terro continued. "That was the objective of the Hakumei: to collect the thirteen Sparks and control their powers."

"Well, you won't succeed this time!" Amy said defiantly, summoning her hammer. "you can't take us all on!"

"You have come this far, yet you understand nothing." Terro shook. "With the Chaos Sparks, we will revolutionize a new era."

"I'm tired of talking!" Knuckles roared impatiently. "It's time to fight!"

Despite the warning of his friends, Knuckles charged ahead with namesakes raised. Kuanga edged himself to fight, but his partner held a hand to keep him back. The crimson bat sighed, closing his eyes, and stepped forward. Knuckles glared at the bat with hatred, but something seemed to prevent him from attacking with full force. Unfortunately, that was the last of his worries. The Hakumei member snapped open his eyes and attacked Knuckles with the signature of his tribe.

"**Kuasagan!!**"

**

* * *

**

The trials of past and future collide. Can the heroes prevent Mina from being captured? Will Terro and Kuanga succeed in their mission? And will Knuckles survive the encounter of the most power technique in existence? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!

**Please, read and review.**


	79. Clouded Future, Part 2

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Chapter Seventy-Nine: Clouded Future, Part 2

"**Kuasagan!!**"

The scene had return to the large, and recently devastated, clearing in the heart of Silver Valley. While Sonic, Amy, and Rouge stood by to protect their newest friend, Mina Mongoose, Knuckles stubbornly charged ahead at the strange visitors. Terro and Kuanga, revealed to be from the future, watched the hotheaded echidna in amusement. While commanding his partner to step back, Terro remained still at Knuckles' charge. Though slightly suspicious, the Knuckle Tribe warrior pressed his namesake into Terro's chest with ease. He twisted his fist into the bat's cloak before he realized that his attack went straight through. A instant later, the unknown character separated into a thousand miniature red bats.

"What the?" Knuckles questioned confused.

"You were foolish to attack something you had no knowledge of." Terro's voice echoed.

"Show yourself!" Knuckles demanded. On command, the bats reshaped themselves into the upper portion of Terro. "What the hell are you?! How are you doing this?!"

"I thought even you would have understood your own ancestry." Terro insulted, earning a fierce growl from the echidna. "The Kuasagan is the most ancient and powerful force in existence – second only to the Rinnegan. The Knuckle Tribe used this power in ancient times to defeat their longtime enemies: The Nocturnus. With this special trait, one can reshape time and space – they can control reality."

"If this power belongs to my ancestors," Knuckles snarled angrily. "Why do you have...?" His answer suddenly became obvious when he noticed the crescent birthmark on Terro's forehead. "No way....you're..."

"I think our time has expired." Terro said shortly.

Once again, the Hakumei member exploded into a cloud of miniature bats. Knuckles jumped into fighting position and started jabbing the small creatures to one side. He would provide a valiant effort before the bat twisted themselves in circles and transformed into a shower of metallic weapons. The bold echidna could do nothing to stop the assault and unwillingly allowed the flashing tools to cut across his body, leaving horrifyingly deep wounds. But against all odds, Knuckles remained standing. That was until Terro appeared once more and grasped the echidna by his head.

* * *

Meanwhile, we return our attention to reality. Knuckles and Terro stood in place in the middle of the makeshift battle field – neither opponent moved for several minutes. While the heroes stared curiously at the echidna, who would normally attack savagely, Kuanga could be seen smirking from the other side.

"Hey, what's up with Knucklehead?" Sonic asked cautiously.

"They've been staring at each other for ten minutes." Amy noted, looking back and forth between the fighters.

"Maybe he's..."

In that very instant, Knuckles' body exploded with nearly a hundred wounds appearing out of nowhere. The heroes watched in fear as the echidna's blood splattered across the once-green grass. Knuckles opened his mouth wide in terror, but his voice seemed to have gotten lost in his throat – he toppled forward unconsciously. At the same time, Terro's mind returned to the physical world and dropped to his knee in exhaustion before Kuanga assisted his friend back up. Amy and Rouge dropped on all fours to check if Knuckles was ok while Mina and Sonic stood guard.

"He's all right." Rouge sighed in relief. "He's still breathing. He lost a lot of blood, but he's going to live."

"What happened to him?" Amy asked scared.

"That bat has a weird power." Mina informed. "He has the ability to create pain and injury without even touching his enemy. A lot of people often avoid him because he is revered and the third most powerful member of the Hakumei."

"Well, someone's going to have to teach him some manners." Sonic glared.

Meanwhile, the two partners were conversing as Terro staggered to his feet.

"You didn't kill him, did you?" Kuanga asked softly.

"No." Terro answered, panting heavily. "I was careful to avoid hitting his vital spots. But he was more resilient than the last time I used the Kuasagan – he must have been prepared beforehand. I won't be able to use it for a long while."

"Then does that mean I can join in on the fun?" Kuanga asked hopefully.

"We work batter as a team." Terro nodded tiredly. "I can tell that they are weaker when divided, but do not kill them."

"Just leave it to me." Kuanga grinned deviously, drawing his blade from the leather strap. "With my legendary sword, the Shamado, we became one of the Seven Sword Lords. I think I can hold back from shredding these rodents."

Noticing the shark warrior drawing his blade, Rouge swiftly carried Knuckles back to the lake while Sonic stared between the two villains. Kuanga was tall and well-built, clearly meaning that he was physically stronger than his partner and could endure more. But Terro was thin and looked slightly paler than ten minutes ago – he was clearly not made for battle and the thinker of the two.

"Ok, if we split up, I think we might stand a chance." Sonic stated certainly. "Rouge, you and Amy take out the big guy while Mina and I get rid of the red one."

Before he realized what had happened, the blue hedgehog was jumping around on one foot with painful tears in his eyes. Amy was not happy about the arrangements and had crushed Sonic's foot under her hammer.

"What was the plan again?" Amy questioned menacingly.

"What I meant was," Sonic stammered fearfully. "Amy and Mina will take out the fish-head guy. That leaves Rouge and I to take care of doom and gloom. Happy?" The two females glanced at one another and sharply looked away with dignified expressions. Sonic whispered to Rouge. "What are the chances they don't kill each other?"

"Slim to none." Rouge answered silently.

"I'm tired of waiting!" Kuanga yelled impatiently. "If you guys won't move, I'll get this party started!"

The unkempt shark warrior lifted his unusual sword over his shoulder and dashed across the bloody battlefield – Terro sighed irritably. While Sonic and Rouge curved around him, Amy clasped her hammer and sent a powerful swing in Kuanga's direction. The Sword Lord stabbed his blade into the ground to create a successful shield between them, but he still shuddered from the vibrations created. Jumping backwards, the pink hedgehog tossed her hammer across the air and jumped above with her foot thrusted forward to the shark's face. The aquatic warrior was unbelievably fast. Kuanga ripped the Shamado from the ground, knocked away the hammer, and used to broadside to block Amy's foot. And with a grin on his expression, he slid the sword downwards, literally shredding Amy's boot. Against her better judgment, Mia dashed over and kneeled to Amy, who was sobbing loudly. The mongoose looked at her foot and nearly choked – it was raw-red with skin starting to peel.

"What did you do?!" Mina exclaimed.

"After all our time together, you still haven't figured it out." Kuanga sniggered audibly, bring the Shamado into view. "My blade doesn't rip flesh, it shreds!"

"It hurts..." Amy sobbed endlessly.

"You'll pay for that one." Mina sneered; her neon markings returned.

"Now that's more like it." Kuanga grinned.

The mongoose warrior clapped her hands together, which resulted in the growth of two powerful oaks. The twin trees did not bear any leaves, but instead looked like a pair of giant claws – Kuanga already knew what was coming. Without warning, the oaks came to life and lunged forward at Kuanga, who used the Shamado to knock them away. Unfortunately, the teeth of his weapon were caught in the bark of the tree, leaving him defenseless against the second branch. Mina called back the trees, which returned to the soil, but captured the Shamado before turning the blade on its original master.

"Well, well, well..." Mina said mockingly. "Looks like the tables have turned."

"You think so, huh?" Kuanga smirked superiorly.

"The chase is over, Kuanga." Mina stated. "I've got your weapon and – YOW!!"

While distracted by the Hakumei shark, Mina failed to notice something attacking her hands. It only took a minute for her to realize that the sword in her hand was shredding through her palms, ripping away the gloves, before dropping it. She stared at her hands. They were as raw as Amy's foot, but her skin remained intact. Meanwhile, Kuanga held out his hand – the Shamado jumped off the ground and twirled into his palm.

"The Shamado is a very special blade." Kuanga explained. "It was first forged several decades ago by Madara Uchiha himself. He forged the blade from the scales and teeth of a demon shark. He intended to use it against his enemies, but was consequently killed in battle and the blade was passed on to his opponent: Hishirama Senju."

"What's with the history lesson?" Mina questioned.

"And they say I'm impatient." Kuanga chuckled. "Let me put it this way. The Shamado can only be wielded by the person it deems worth. And it will only deem you worthy if you kill its previous owner." He grinned manically. "That is the bloody history of the Shamado."

"And that was two minutes of my life I'll never get back." Mina said blandly.

The Sword Lord glared and dashed ahead. Meanwhile, Sonic and Rouge were dealing with their own troubles against Terro. Even with his ultimately advanced speed, Sonic found it impossible to gain a proper hold of the crimson bat. Every time the blue hedgehog would get within an inch of him; the unknown rogue would always find a way to slip through his fingers. With this in mind, Rouge decided to go on the offensive. Whenever close enough, she would attempt to knock him away with her strong legs, but was surprised when Terro mimicked her movements. After the last attempted strike, The crimson fighter managed to kick away her attack and pressed his heel into her cheek.

"Hey, don't you know it's not nice to hit a lady?" Rouge scowled.

"I was not raised upon chivalry." Terro stated dully.

"Obviously." Rouge pouted; Terro didn't even twitch.

"I don't think flirting will work on him." Sonic commented, ignoring her inappropriate statements. "Trying to catch this guy is like trying to separate Vector from his secret jar of pickles."

"Right...." Rouge said awkwardly. "Well, if we can't take him separately, we just have to attack at once. You stay low, I go high."

It was a simple plan with many flaws, but Sonic could never tell the difference. Rouge spread her wings open and took to the sky while Sonic dashed around Terro to attack from behind. The heroes charged at the Hakumei member from opposite sides, but he did not appear to be concerned. To make sure their plan was successful; Rouge twisted her body around for her signature Screw Kick and Sonic curled for his special Spin Dash. Terro finally took action. The crimson bat skipped into the air and twisted his body horizontally to avoid both attack above and below him. Before the passed him completely, Terro stuck out his foot to kick Sonic in the face and his arm to thrust against Rouge's neck. The blue hedgehog tumbled backwards in surprise, but was able to roll back to his feet. Rouge was not as fortunate and smacked face forward into the nearest tree, losing consciousness.

"Rouge!" Sonic exclaimed fearfully.

"There is nothing to worry about." Terro claimed while feeling the female's pulse; Sonic sneered spitefully. "I made sure that nothing of physical value was harmed. She will awaken within an hour or so."

"Thanks...I guess." Sonic said hesitantly. After watching Terro place Rouge in a more comfortable position, he began to question the rogue's motives. "I don't get it. From what Mina has told me, you're supposed to be evil. So what don't you kill us when you have the chance. You let Knuckles live and saved Rouge."

"I have my reason." Terro stated distantly. "But none of which shall be revealed to you."

"Then I guess I'll force it out of you!" Sonic shouted. The blue hedgehog held out his palm and began to gather a large amount of blue Chaos Energy. He was able to compress it into the shape of a sphere, forming his signature attack. "**SONIC WIND!!**"

The blue hedgehog braced himself in place, watching Terro's movements, before shooting across the field at a godly pace. Even the crimson bat would not be fast enough to escape, so he did not attempt to. He waited until Sonic was within arms-length of him before thrusting out his own hand. In an amazing show of skill and speed, Terro miraculously captured Sonic's wrist – the Sonic Wind was instantly dispelled. The blue hero tried to tug away his arm from Terro's grasp, but was unsuccessful when the crimson bat snapped his wrist. Sonic cried in pain – it was shortly ended when the Hakumei rogue slammed his knee into the hedgehog's chest. The last thing Sonic saw was the glint of Terro's eye – they were demonically orange.

"That puts our troubles on a temporary hold." Terro said dully, calling to his partner. "Are you finished yet?!"

"Hey, just because you don't like to have fun doesn't mean I'm the same!" Kuanga shouted amusingly, pushing aside another tossed hammer aimed for his head. "Just give me a few minutes and I'll take care of them!"

"You have three minutes." Terro sneered impatiently.

The Sword Lord scoffed. As he partner took a seat near the lake, Kuanga resumed his attention to the battle, barely avoiding another flying hammer. Because her foot was so badly injured, Amy was incapable of walking. Fortunately, Mina and the pink rose managed to overlook their differences and assist each other in battle. In a stunning display of power, the mongoose warrior summoned a wooden creature that looked and acted as tiger. Mina commanded the wooden tiger from the front while Amy summoned an unusual amount of Piko-Piko Hammer's from nowhere.

"This isn't working." Amy stated, watching another one of her hammers ripped to shreds. "Don't you have anything that could help? Maybe some weaknesses you know about him?"

"Weaknesses..." Mina said hesitantly.

"I'll take that as a no." Amy commented dryly.

"Good luck trying to get anything on me!" Kuanga cackled. He jumped overhead and nearly decapitated the young females as they passed by. "I wasn't a Sword Lord for nothing. My type of power is..."

"What kind of power he possessed remained unknown. Without warning, the broad shark dropped to his knees, choking as if some invisible hand was strangling the life out of him. It was only when they noticed his skin turning a pale-grey and the gills on his neck expanded did they realize his ultimate weakness. He needed constant hydration. This provided the heroes with the advantage. Kuanga, chocking on his own breathe, leaned against his sword while dragging himself to the lake. Unfortunately for the shark, Mina's wooden beast stepped between them and allowed Amy a clear shot for his head. Because of his dehydrated state, Kuanga's movements were sluggish and left him unable to defend against the attack. The powerful hammer struck against his jaw, sending the croaking shark skidding backwards on his back – he felt one of his teeth fall out.

"I think we finally got him." Mina said cheerily, jumping off the wood tiger's head.

"Be careful, Mina." Amy said cautiously

The mongoose girl merely waved and approached the fallen swordsman. Kuanga tried to push himself up using the Shamado, but Mina kicked it out of him, dropping him face forward into the ground. She pushed the dying Sword Lord on his back, slamming her foot on his heaving chest.

"Look how the mighty have fallen." Mina taunted. "You should have given up the moment this battle started."

"And you're just as arrogant as your Spark." Kuanga choked, still smiling deviously. "If you think the battle is over, you've forgotten one fact." He chuckled tiredly at Mina's dazed expression. "There's a reason the Hakumei travel in two."

"Uh oh." Mina murmured.

Finally catching to Kuanga's thoughts, Mina turned on her heels, barely catching a blur of red before flying across the ground. The Mongoose girl stumbled awkwardly – she twisted her ankle – and pushed herself high enough to see. The fractured remains of her wooden sentinel were strewed across the ground and Terro stood over his partner with an exasperated expression. He was carrying the unconscious Amy Rose under his arms while holding a bottle of water over his partner. He rudely dumped the contents over the shark's head, which immediately returned his strength and color. Moaning loudly, Kuanga cracked his back before calling the Shamado into his hand.

"How many times have I told you not to play around?" Terro questioned sternly.

"Over a hundred times." Kuanga said like a kid being punished.

"Maybe this time you will finally learn how to execute a plan properly." Terro said, tossing Amy into his partner's arms. "I won't you to finish this now. Do not delay or the Leader will speak to you."

"No!" Mina screamed.

"You're a little late, girl." Kuanga said wickedly, raising the teeth of his blade to the hedgehog's neck. "I lost something valuable because of her. It's ironic that I'll be using it to take something of value from her."

"Leave – her – alone!!" Mina roared furiously.

Without warning, a pulse of invisible energy swept across the clearing – Kuanga nearly lost his footing. The green marking along her body glowed brighter than ever, but something even stranger was taking place: they were moving. All the neon markings squirmed across her body until forming a circle on her back. Then a hole was ripped in the back of her shirt as the green light slithered into the physical world while remaining connected to its origin. Terro and Kuanga stared in wonder as the slithering light gained a serpentine body, a pair of claws, and a spiked head. Once the light had died, a serpentine dragon roared in righteous fury – its lower half remained connected to the mongoose's back.

"I don't believe it." Kuanga said excitedly, gleaming proudly at the magnificent dragon. He unknowingly dropped Amy. "She actually summoned her Chaos Spark. I finally get to see one with my own eyes."

"Don't take too long." Terro said tiredly. "Finish this battle quickly."

"Aren't we a little hopeful?" The Green Dragon roared savagely. "As if this fish bait could defeat the most powerful of the thirteen Chaos Sparks. As if he could destroy the greatest essence of Nazo!"

"The Leader was right about one thing." Kuanga chuckled. "This one certainly is arrogant."

"I'm not arrogant if I'm right." The Green Dragon countered.

Kuanga merely grunted while drawing his sword forward. The Green Dragon slammed hic claws into the ground, ripping open the Earth under his command. From those fractures, massive golems of pure wood and other plan life clawed their way to the surface, all glaring darkly at their prey. The Sword Lord looked like he had been given an extravagant present. He gripped his sword with all his might and jumped into the sky, dropping in the center of the army. From all directions, the sentinels reached for the shark swordsman, not realizing their enclosed space. With such limited room, the golems were unable to attack their target without bumping into each other. Kuanga took full advantage of the situation and shredded the sentinels with a single twist of his hand. Surrounded in a rain of scattered leaves, Kuanga gave off the impression of a noble swordsman preparing for battle. However, his self-made distraction allowed the Green Dragon to reach out and grab the Sword Lord with his claw – the Shamado dropped to the ground.

"And you call me arrogant." The Green Dragon snarled. "You may have defeated those pathetic rats, but I am superior to all!"

"You're strong, but not very smart." Kuanga said amusingly. "Like I said, there will always be two of us."

"And that will lead to your downfall."

The Green Dragon's gaze shifted around for the source of the voice when he noticed something missing: Terro was nowhere in sight. The Chaos Spark stared around the environment and accounted for Sonic, Knuckles, Rouge, and Amy, but the crimson bat was nowhere to be spotted. But when the mysterious rogue returned, it became the last action the Dragon would do. Terro reappeared close to the Green Dragon's left eyes and stared at his with his own demonic presence.

"**Kuasagan!!**"

The Green Dragon muttered intangibly with a stream of thick blood creeping from the corners of his jaw. After several agonizing moment, the jade lizard toppled to the side with a deafening thud – Kuanga jumped back into place while grabbing his sword. With the defeat of the Chaos Spark, the serpent of energy backtracked into Mina's back and resumed its place as the markings across her body. Unfortunately, the battle had drained the last of the mongoose's energy – she toppled forward within seconds.

"That worked better than I thought." Kuanga commented.

"And it only took three months to capture." Terro muttered silently.

"Well, at least we got what we came for." Kuanga stated. He reached forward with his sword and carried the mongoose on the blunt edge, safe from being shredded. "Shouldn't we be moving on?"

"Not just yet." Terro murmured, turning his attention to the unconscious blue hedgehog.

* * *

"Whoa!" Sonic screamed, swiftly sitting up.

"What's wrong, Sonic?"

The blue hero snapped his head. Sonic found himself sitting on the picnic blanket that Amy had prepared for them while the pink furred girlfriend and leaning on his shoulder, looking concerned. Staring around, he noticed Knuckles continuing his fishing venture near the lake with Rouge sitting in the grass. They both seemed to have been attracted by Sonic's sudden outburst, but shortly returned to their activities. Everything from the clean cut grass to the towering pines, nothing looked as if it had been placed in the middle of the battle. Even the existence of Mina seemed to have been abandoned.

"Are you ok, Sonic?" Amy asked concerned.

"I'm fine." Sonic said, sounding thoroughly confused. "I think I just had a bad dream."

"With the present company, that comes as no surprise." Rouge laughed.

"Hey!!" Knuckles snapped.

While the hotheaded echidna tackled his fiancé to the ground, Sonic was lost in thought.

"_But it couldn't be a dream._" Sonic thought certainly. "_It was too real to be one. What happened?_"

Meanwhile, in the ridge above the clearing, Terro and Kuanga were gazing down at the small group of characters below. Mina was lying unconscious on the blunt edge of Kuanga's sword – her cloths and fur dripping with large traces of water.

"Whew, that was a close one." Kuanga sighed in relief. "It's a good thing we caught Mina in the river before she could reach them. Imagine the catastrophe that would have caused." Terro said nothing as he watched Knuckles and Rouge fall into the lake. "But the one thing I don't understand is why you showed the hedgehog your vision."

"He needed to be prepared for the future." Terro said simply.

"Whatever." Kuanga said nonchalantly. He followed Terro's gaze to the bickering couple, who was splashing water at each other. "Oh, I get it. You just wanted a chance to see them again."

"You could understand my pain, Kuanga." Terro said monotonously. "You lost your wife and child in battle, while I was chose the path to separate myself from my family. Even though it pains me, I do not regret the day I turned my back upon them." He glanced at the couple once more. "But still, I wanted to see my mother and father one last time."

"It's time to go, Terro." Kuanga stated, staring about to the horizon.

"We have the Chaos Spark." Terro stated bluntly. "With it, the Hakumei are one step closer to completing their goals. And then 'HE' will rise and become the chosen messiah he was destined to be."

From within their coats, the partner members pulled out a pair of familiar gems: the Chaos Emeralds. They both muttered a pair of simultaneous words, summoning a white vortex in the background. Without sparing a glance back at the past, the dark duo passed through the vortex into the future.

**

* * *

**

Some destinies are bleaker than others. Why did Terro show this vision of unknown consequence to Sonic? Where will the Hakumei strike next? And who is the chosen messiah the crimson bat speaks of? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!

**Please, read and review.**


	80. Sun and Moon

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Rodrigo © Kiba Sniper  
Corrupt © DarkspineSilver92

Chapter Eighty: Sun and Moon

The scene opens to the dark and dreary dimension that served as a base for the Dark Rulers. In the heart of the white-walled castle, Nazo peered calculative over the board displayed in front of him with the four emeralds floating above. Ever since he had regained his memories, the God of Darkness had grown more obsessed with obtaining all the objects of power. He was working tirelessly to obtain the remaining Chaos Emeralds, despite the heroes already possessing one. He had ordered Erazor, Tomo, and Nack to collect the Seven World Rings from the Arabian Knights while Dark, Mephiles, and Shira hunted the missing Sol Emeralds. Nazo was intrigued by the sword-like objects, but did nothing to capture them. As he glowered at the scattered pieces of the board, he only raised his head when Rodrigo and Corrupt appeared before him.

"You two finally made it." Nazo said coldly.

"You call...my lord?" Corrupt questioned; Nazo noticed his fist tightening.

"I am very disappointed in you two." Nazo said coolly, leaning back into his throne. "During your stay with the Dark Rulers, you have both been given a total of three missions. One from Project: Hellzone and two from your separate assignments."

"Yeah?" Rodrigo nodded. "But why are you telling us something we already know?"

"What you don't seem to recall is how they ended." Nazo glared; Rodrigo shivered. "During Project: Hellzone, you were both defeated by mere apparitions of the past." He turned his head to Rodrigo. "I assigned you to collect the remaining Chaos Emeralds. Not only did you get lost, but you failed to kill the half-demon whelp. And now he possesses his third tail through your influence."

"Yeah...not my best career move." Rodrigo admitted sheepishly.

"And you." Nazo glared to Corrupt. "I sent you to capture the Chaos Emerald from Team Virtex and return immediately. But you went against my orders and attempted to kill them without my permission. And to make matters worse, you were defeated by six weak mortals. I guess your reputation in Hell means nothing to the living world." He watched Corrupt's clenched fist draw blood. "You both have failed in your own way and that simply will not do."

"Then what do you want us to do about it?" Corrupt asked while attempting to swallow his rage.

"I have learned that the last two emeralds have been located in the same region." Nazo explained, pointing to the place on the board. "Unfortunately, the Heroes have already made there way and are retrieving it now. I need you two to take care of them and retrieve the Chaos Emeralds."

"We will leave at once...my lord." Corrupt hisses silently.

"And remember..." Nazo forewarned. "Your fates are in my hands. Any attempt to withdraw from your obligations will end in...disciplinary punishment." He was looking particularly to Corrupt during the statement. "Even darkness has boundaries."

Corrupt nodded curtly, but Rodrigo scratched his head in confusion. The dark hedgehog sighed and grabbed his partner's arm before fading into darkness.

* * *

The scene alternates to the great outback of northern Australia. The creatures of Australian wilderness hopped or trotted across the landscape, keeping their eyes and ears sharp for predators that may wish to feast. But whether prey or predator, the Babylon Rogues were not concerned. Jet and Storm were busy digging into the ground with a pair of shovels – they were sweating from the intense heat – while Wave sat underneath the shade of a tree. While hiding behind the face of a technological guide book, Wave was more attracted to the sweaty hawk in the hole.

"Explain to me again why we're doing this?" Storm asked dimly, not realizing he was tossing dirt into Jet's face. "I thought we were looking for the Chaos Emeralds."

"We are, idiot!" Wave snapped, angry to have an excuse to look away from Jet. "I used the portable radar to locate the missing two Chaos Emeralds to this exact location. And according to my calculations, the impact upon landing and the chances of continuous stampedes may have buried the emeralds deep in the Earth's crust."

"But why aren't you working?" Storm complained.

"Get back to work, Storm." Jet commanded, removing his sweat with a towel – Wave shuddered. "The sooner we find those emeralds, the sooner we can get back home and catch the game between Central City and Windy Valley."

"Central City's totally going to dominate." Storm proclaimed, scraping the dirt.

"No way!" Jet exclaimed. "Windy Valley's fourth in the league!"

The purple swallow rolled her eyes as her teammates once again got into an argument over sports – she won't admit that she is a fan herself. While they continued to drive further into the ground, Wave set aside her guide and suddenly became interested in her necklace. She could distinctly remember the day when her father passed down the sacred treasure to her and became the first to discover technological advances of the piece. She pressed a hidden button of the gem to bring up a holographic screen. She was reading the journal entry of Kanoose, the fourth leader of the Babylon Rogues, which she retrieved from the computer of Babylon Garden. As she was reading his entry on creatures called Unbirths, a sudden clank brought her back to reality.

"I think I found something!" Storm shouted.

"I'm right here, you know!" Jet snapped irritably.

"Well, it was nice while it lasted." Wave murmured.

The Babylonian swallow closed her jewel and jumped back to her feet, approaching the wide hole. While she was disappointed that Jet had found a way to cool himself down, they at least found what they were sent for. The Rogue leader stepped out of the hole with Storm's help while carrying the white and blue Chaos Emerald in each hand. Storm dragged himself back to the surface, panting heavily.

"Yeah, thanks for the help." Storm said sarcastically.

"It's about time." Wave grumbled impatiently. "I can't wait to get out of this godforsaken wasteland."

"Aw, where's your sense of adventure, Wave." Jet sniggered playfully, nudging the swallow's sides. "At least Storm and I have a reason to go home. You're always stuck up with some gizmo like Lunar Trash."

Wave didn't take that well and whacked him upside the head with her wrench.

"Don't you ever call me a Lunar!!" Wave roared furiously

"What's the problem with being a Lunar?"

The Babylon Rogues jumped from the shock of the unexpected sound and turned on their heels in the direction. But in the next moment, Jet and Storm were tossed backwards by a stream of black smoke colliding with their chests. She watched her teammates tumble back, which she learned to regret instantly when she felt her felt lift off the ground. Wave snapped her head in multiple directions to see what was keeping her suspended – she didn't even notice the Chaos Emeralds floating out of her hands. When the thought finally came to her attention, she was suddenly propelled across the air and landed softly on top of the rest of the Rogues – Jet was regretfully on the bottom.

"Ugh...what happened?" Storm groaned.

"I'll give ya three guesses." Jet gasped.

After unscrambling themselves, the Babylon Rogues stood firm across from their attackers. Corrupt stood motionlessly with his glowing gloves held forward, attempting to ignore the silent laughter of his partner. Rodrigo was nonchalantly juggling the Chaos Emeralds in the air like and avian clown – Corrupt had the same thought running through his mind. He captured the glistening emeralds in the air, watching the sun through their flawless forms.

"My, I haven't seen such a beauty in centuries." Rodrigo said coyly. "Pity Rakis never considered stealing these from the echidnas at the time."

"That's because Rakis wasn't a two-faced Lunar!" Jet yelled.

"Hey, I remember you." Rodrigo laughed pointedly to the hawk. "I saw you at the floating island when Rakis and the rest of those Rogues showed." He scratched his beak in thought – the Chaos Emerald remained suspend. "Uh...what was your name again? I know it begins with a C."

"Jet?" The hawk asked dully.

"Nah, that's not it." Rodrigo waved; the Rogues facefaulted.

"Might I suggest we depart." Corrupt suggested irritably. "_Lord _Nazo specifically stated that we were to retrieve the Chaos Emeralds and return."

"And they say my tribe has no sense of adventure!" Rodrigo cackled, clapping the hedgehog's shoulder. "Come on, Corrupt! You've really got to loosen up!" He moved in close with a malevolent smirk on his expression. "Lord Nazo said to return with the Chaos Emeralds, but he never said when."

"Hmm...." Corrupt hummed thoughtfully. "You have a point. All right, I'll play your little game."

"**Gravity Dive!!**"

A blur of emerald zipped between the twin evils, pushing each towards opposite ends. Corrupt skidded backwards on his feet, but the Babylonian crow toppled on his back, unintentionally releasing the Chaos Emeralds. Wave ran forward, stepping on Rodrigo's beak, and grabbed the mystical gem out of the air. The Lunar leader reached to grab the swallow by her ankle, but Storm jumped out of nowhere and belly flopped over the dark traitor. Under the pressure of the um...large albatross, what could be seen of Rodrigo twitched continuously. But in the meantime, Rodrigo watched cautiously as the emerald blur curved around the trees and cut a straight path in his direction. But just as the dark hedgehog thrusted out a wave of lightning, the green blur jumped into the air – Jet came into view. The Babylon Prince twisted in midair to bring down his heel over the demon's head. Unfortunately, Corrupt raised his forearm to push the bird away.

"Hmph! You've got spunk, I'll give you that." Corrupt complimented, much to his distaste. "However, I greatly despise spunk almost as much as happiness." He moved into a fighters' stance. "You're just one giant hindrance."

"Well, aren't you a happy little mole?" Jet said tauntingly.

"I'm a hedgehog." Corrupt stated bluntly.

"Really?" Jet stared surprisingly. "Wow, the years haven't been good to you."

The Babylon leader was, surprisingly, capable off pissing Corrupt off. The eternal shadow clenched his hands and pressed them ahead to summon twin dragons of spectral energy. Quick as a flash, Jet whipped out his feathered fans and slashed through the ghostly entities. Unfortunately, the shadow twins were found to be immune to physical attacks, stabbing their teeth through the hawk's arm. Jet struggled fruitlessly against their grip as he was roughly dragged back against the savannah ground. However, Jet was suddenly forced free once the spectral dragons had vanished without a trace. Looking down, he quickly discovered the ghost form had disappeared the moment they reached the shade of the tree hanging overhead.

"So, you do have a weakness." Jet grinned. "You have the powers of darkness, but they can be eaten by other darkness – shadows."

"You lie." Corrupt growled. "I have no weaknesses."

But Jet did not seem to believe him. Irritated by the hawk's expression of superiority, the eternal shadows opened his palms into the avian's direction, summoning a storm of black lightning. Jet unconsciously rubbed his ring, ready to vanish immediately if his plan didn't succeed. However, the emerald hawk's proclamations proved to be true the moment crossed through the shadow border – they vanished instantly.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Corrupt screamed furiously. He tried attacking again with his shadow powers, but proved to be as unsuccessful as before. "This is impossible! I have never been restricted by such a weakness! Who could have...?" He stopped ranting when his mind fell to one person. "Nazo."

"Looks like the big guy doesn't trust you much." Jet sniggered tauntingly.

"It does not matter." Corrupt hissed. "Even without the shadows, I am still superior to up."

"You think so huh?" Jet challenged, raising his ring into view. "Then why don't we test that theory. **Time Break!!**"

When happened next, Corrupt could never recall. Meanwhile, Rodrigo had finally managed to push Storm off – he thanked the god of Babylon for letting him live. But when he wasn't looking, Storm charged ahead and tackled the traitorous crow in the back. The powerful albatross pushed the Lunar leader towards one of the uprooted boulders in the savannah, but Rodrigo escaped at the last minute. The vile traitor grasped Storm by his shoulders, flipped overhead, and kicked him face forward into the rock surface. Rodrigo hovered over the ground nonchalantly while watching the poor bird slump to the ground.

"I always knew Rakis had a soft spot for weaklings." Rodrigo cackled. Next thing he knew, he was crumpled on the ground with a welt the size of a goofball on his head. "Yow! What the hell?!"

"I hope you enjoyed it." He turned and spotted Wave holding up her wrench – the Chaos Emeralds were tied to her waist. "Because I'm about to give you a one-way trip back!"

The contemptuous swallow raised her tool and brought it swiftly down over the crow's skull. Unfortunately, the unlikely weapon was halted in midair just several inches from Rodrigo's head. Wave's arm shook from the increased weight of her wrench until she was forced to let go – the wrench smashed through two feet of Earth. Without her weapon, she was defenseless against Rodrigo, which the crow happily noticed. The Babylon traitor pushed himself off the ground by his hands and slammed his heel into Wave's cheek. The swallow was tossed higher into the air than she was supposed to be – Rodrigo must have affected the gravity again. Once kicking back to his feet, the Lunar Rogue raised his hand towards the incapacitated hero and increased the gravity field around her. Wave was now ten times heavier than normal and began freefalling for the ground at an alarming rate. She closed her eyes to await the imminent impact, but was surprised when Rodrigo's hand shot out and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt.

"Now, what was that about a trip to hell?" Rodrigo sniggered.

"Let me down from here and I'll show you!" Wave screeched, punching the crow in the beak.

"Hey!" Rodrigo exclaimed, holding his aching beak. "Oh, that just about does it, girl! I was hoping to kill the prince of traitors first, but I guess I'll have to..." He stopped himself in mid-sentence – his mouth gaping in alarm. "Where did you get that?"

The confused swallow raised her brow and followed the crow's line of vision. She noticed that his gaze was deadlocked on the glittering necklace resting over her heart – his eyes gained a hungry look to them.

"What? My necklace?" Wave questioned

"You mean mine!" Rodrigo snarled. "Where did you get it?!"

"My father gave it to me." Wave answered with a glare. "He stole it from South Island a long time ago."

"You mean they stole it from me!" Rodrigo roared.

"What are you talking about?" Wave questioned.

"You have no idea what that artifact truly is." Rodrigo stated. "I created that gem over a thousand centuries ago during the time of King Rakis and the voyage of Babylon Garden. I used it as a storage system to keep secret information away from those who might try to steal my glory. Unfortunately, after Babylon Garden was split between two tribes, my own daughter betrayed me. She took the Red Opal from my possession and gave all my secrets to the Solar Rouges."

"Even your own daughter saw you as a low-life traitor." Wave taunted.

"But I am curious." Rodrigo said interestingly, tracing the gem with his forefinger. "The Red Opal is supposed to be only accessible to those of my blood. Yet, I can tell that these files have been recently used." He smiled malevolently. "That would mean one thing..."

"What?" Wave whispered fearfully.

"You are not the Solar that you proclaim to be." Rodrigo stated coldly. "You are the descendent of my traitorous daughter – you are the heir to the Lunar Rogues."

In that one instant, Wave thought she could feel her heart stop cold. After years of learning to hate the Lunar Rogues, it was a disaster to learn that she was actually the princess of the tribe. Taking advantage of Wave's stunned performance, Rodrigo ripped the Red Opal from the swallow's neck and threw her to the ground – he did not try to get the emeralds.

"Hey, Corrupt, it's time to go!" Rodrigo called.

"I refuse to leave!" Corrupt snarled. He kicked his foot at Jet's throat, only to have it pushed aside. "This pigeon will die slow and painfully!"

"I sympathize with your thoughts." Rodrigo nodded seriously. "But if you won't come by choice, then I guess I'll have to persuade you another way."

Corrupt attempted to gather darkness in his fist, but Jet had fallen back to hiding in the shadows when he knew. The dark hedgehog growled furiously – Jet had been using the same tactic throughout the battle. The eternal shadow dispelled the darkness from his hand and charged ahead for contact when he and the hawk were suddenly pushed to opposite ends. While floating in midair, Rodrigo captured his partner by the air and both disappeared into a cloud of darkness. The emerald hawk scrambled backwards, scratching his head in confusion at the unusually spectacle.

"Uh...what just happened?" Jet muttered questionably.

"Boss!" Storm cried after finally awakening. "I think something wrong with Wave!"

The feeling of concern drove the Dark Rulers out of his mind. He walked over to Storm, who was watching the purple swallow sadly on the ground. Wave had not moved from her place – the thoughts of being a Lunar were too stressful for her. Would Storm still consider her a member of the team? And more importantly, would Jet still love her? Solar Tribe members were born with the gene to hate Lunars unconditionally. Jet tried to find a way of asking Wave what was wrong, but something in his remedial mind pushed him to striking a different conversation.

"Hey, at least we still have the Chaos Emeralds." Jet said feebly, referring to the emeralds around Wave's waist. "Leave it to Lunar Trash to screw up something."

"Like me." Wave murmured.

"What?" Storm asked confused.

"Rodrigo told me everything." Wave said mournfully. "I'm not a member of the Solar Rogues. My ancestors were originally descendants of Rodrigo, meaning I am a Lunar Rogue." Jet and Storm hissed out of instinct – Wave could not stop the tears from escaping her eyes. "So that's it. I am Lunar and don't belong with the Babylon Rogues. I would understand if you both hate me now."

Wave waited in silence for their answer. But when neither of them response, the sense of foreboding grew deep in her heart. Then without warning, she was lifted into the air and crushed by a pair of powerful arms. At first, she suspected that they were trying to kill her until she recognized the feeling of Storm trying to hug her – he could easily be compared to Amy. When the large albatross finally set her down, she stood before Jet, who was smiling with a devious grin.

"Aw, we still like you, Wave." Storm said happily. "Even if you are Lunar Trash."

"You know, the Lunars might not be so bad." Jet said pleasant, taking Wave's hand into his own. "Especially if they can produce something as beautiful as this."

"You...you guys aren't mad at me?" Wave questioned, ignoring the redness of her face.

"Hey, you don't think we're gonna get rid of you like that." Jet chuckled appreciatively. "Besides, you still owe us for this cheap adventure."

Wave rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless. She may have been a Lunar by blood, but she was a Solar by heart.

* * *

Meanwhile, the scene alternates to a thick forest halfway around the world from Australia. In the heart of the trees, a cloud of darkness emerged to deposit Corrupt and Rodrigo from its depths. The Babylonian crow landed softly on the ground while tossing his partner into the grass. Corrupt hissed and summoned the powers of darkness into his hands before realizing the forest was made from endless shadows. He dispelled the black magic, glaring spitefully at his partner.

"What is the meaning of this?" Corrupt hissed. "How dare you drag me to this hellhole."

"Just shut up for once and listen." Rodrigo commanded forcefully. "We're going to leave Nazo and the Dark Rulers." He noticed the hedgehog's shocked expression. "Don't act so surprised. Everyone knew you were planning to betray Nazo from the beginning, even Nazo himself."

"But why would we leave." Corrupt questioned. "We aren't powerful enough to defeat him."

"Not yet." Rodrigo grinned wickedly, bringing the Red Opal into view. "But with this, everything will change."

"A piece of jewelry?" Corrupt said unimpressed.

"This isn't just any piece of jewelry." Rodrigo stated encouragingly. "This gem contains all the knowledge I collected from Babylon, including the shadows that destroyed our home world. If we figure out how to control them, our powers would be limitless!"

"You're a bit late."

Corrupt and Rodrigo jumped slightly and whipped around to confront the origin. They spotted an unknown figure leaning against the tress with an impression of superiority – Corrupt could easily see his expansive aura of darkness. The newcomer was a black hedgehog jagged brown markings roaming across his body. He wore regular white gloves, grey boots with red outlines, and three different colored belts with a different ring attached.

"Who are you?" Corrupt questioned suspiciously.

"My name is Orion." Orion answered. "And it is my unfortunate business to inform you that the shadows, now known as the Heartless, serve under a new master. You chances of regaining them are slim to none."

"Damn it!" Rodrigo snapped.

"Why are you telling us this?" Corrupt glared.

"Funny you should ask." Orion grinned menacingly. "I have been sent to look for you by my master, Lord Naga. I believe he has an offer that you would be foolish to refuse."

"What offer?" Rodrigo asked curiously.

"Do either of your know the powers of the Solar Eclipse." Orion chuckled silently

**

* * *

**

The bonds between friendship are too powerful to be severed. What will become of Wave after learning her heritage? What does Naga have planned for Rodrigo and Corrupt? And what is Nazo's next course of action? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!

**Please, read and review.**


	81. Shadow of the Rulers, Part 1

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Note: This is the last episode before the Final Season.

Chapter Eighty-One: Shadow of the Rulers, Part 1

The scene opens to the Sonic Heroes base. Even from the outside, one could hear each and every hero groaning and complaining. It was the worst time of the year: monthly cleaning. Kumori crossed the hanger and pressed her palm into the handprint scanner to enter the trophy room. It was her job to inspect and clean the inventory of all the objects they had collected during their adventures. The room became the sanctuary of the Master Emerald, the helmet of Mach, a piece of the Black Comet, the Extreme Gear, the Scepter of Darkness, a piece of Metal Overlord's armor, and the tablet from the Gigan Rocks. They have recently received new additions to their collection. They had a head from a Gizoid and the Gaia Manuscript Amy had obtained from Prof. Pickle.

"This sucks..." Kumori groaned while checking off the Black Comet piece. "Why did Shadow have to be a neat freak? At least this place is much better than when we first found it."

"Come on, you stupid thing."

The Shadow prototype perked her ears at the sound and directed herself to the glass case that held the Chaos Emeralds. Amy Rose was standing over the mystic gems while clutching the blue emerald in her hand. The pink hedgehog seemed intently focused on the Chaos Emerald – her face was a violent shade of purple. Kumori tapped a finger on her should, unsuspectingly shocking her rival and tripping herself to the floor.

"Amy, what are you doing?" Kumori asked exasperatedly. "Aren't you supposed to be cleaning the kitchen with Cream?"

"Oh, I finished that in two minutes." Amy said cheerfully. "It helps to have sonic speed."

"Damn, why didn't I think of that?" Kumori muttered under her breathe before looking back. "That still doesn't explain what your doing in here. Or why your having a staring contest with a Chaos Emerald."

"I'm trying to unlock the Super Form." Amy answered.

At once, the hedgehog prototype clutched her knees, laughing until her lungs began to ache. It was a ridiculous thought for Amy to unlock the Super Form, but the rosy hedgehog didn't seem to agree. The pink female was glaring down at her rival, cutting off the barrier of laughter.

"Wait, you were serious?" Kumori stared curiously. "But, Amy, you can't unlock the Super Form. That can only be used by people who can control Chaos Energy like Shadow and Sonic."

"But I have super speed like Sonic!" Amy protested.

"That's because you were naturally born with it." Kumori explained. "It is a bit unnatural that you have something that is not commonly passed down through generations, but this is a different subject. Though everyone is born with Chaos Energy, only those of strong wills and minds can control it."

"I will unlock the Super Form!" Amy screamed determined. "I won't lose my Sonic!"

"But Sonic already loves you." Kumori stated pointedly. "What is the point of trying to unlock the Super Form?"

"I don't want to lose him." Amy said sadly. "We may be together, but I sometimes think of those times when Sonic and Sally were together. Sonic dumped Sally because she was demanding and couldn't take care of herself. With Nazo and the Dark Rulers becoming stronger, I look like a weakling compared to the others." A single tear escape from her eyes. "I want to make sure that the same thing doesn't happen to me."

"Amy..." Kumori sighed irritably.

"Attention, heroes!!" Tails yelled over the intercom. "Report to the workshop immediately!! This is an urgent matter!!"

The last time they had heard Tails so desperate and scared was when Cream gushed over his new third tail. But if everyone was needed to be present, it must have been something much worse. The twin females zipped out of the room across the hall shortly after Sonic and Shadow had arrived. They were talking to Tails, who was standing in front of a large electronic ring hanging on the back wall with a number of wires connecting to the computers. It took two minutes until the rest of the Sonic Heroes arrived – Charmy was the last to appear with a paint bucket on his head.

"Now that everyone is here, what is going on, Tails?" Shadow questioned stonily.

"Ok, an explanation is needed first." Tails said quickly – he seemed excessively nervous. "Every since Silver and I returned from Blaze's dimension, I've been working of a Vortex Disrupter..."

"A wha?" Storm interrupted confusingly.

"A Vortex Disruptor!" Tails exclaimed maddeningly; the heroes jumped. He took a moment to take a deep breath and calm his nerves. "Sorry about that. Anyway, a Vortex Disrupter is a machine that is designed to eradicate the spatial barriers between dimension for easy transport. Just punch in the destination and a portal will take you to it."

"Wow, shorty." Wave said impressively. "I have to hand it to ya; you've got some real talent."

"So what's the problem?" Espio questioned.

"I was testing the Vortex Disruptor." Tails said hesitantly. "But then...I found something unpleasant."

All the heroes looked between each other in equal confusion. With a fearful expression, the three-tailed kitsune turned to his computer and began typing in a difficult sequence of numbers and letters. Electricity surged through the wires and a swirl of silvery light appeared in the Vortex Disruptor. Not a moment passed before the silver light was pushed aside to reveal the inner sanctuary of the Dark Ruler's castle. And sitting at his throne was the God of Darkness himself.

"Nazo!!" The Heroes roared.

"How pleasant to see you." Nazo said mockingly. "It is especially reassuring to see that you are still safe after the Gaia Calamity, Sonic. I was afraid that you had lost yourself in your Werehog Form."

"What do you want, Nazo?" Blaze glared.

"Touchy." Nazo chuckled amusingly. "All right, I'll get straight to the point. I know for the fact that you have the last three Chaos Emeralds while I have the other four."

"What's it to you?" Silver sneered.

"On normal occasions, we would spend weeks fighting over them." Nazo sighed. "But it becomes monotonous and tiring having to spent endless nights locked in mortal combat. That is why I have an offer for you."

"What offer?" Shadow asked interestingly.

"One battle to determine everything." Nazo stated. "We bring all seven Chaos Emeralds and one member from each of our organizations will fight each other. And whoever succeeds wins all seven emeralds for their group. And to make things even, I will not be participating in this match. Do we have a deal?"

The heroes glanced at each other with uncertainty. Shadow silently called his team into a huddle and began a heated discussion on the sudden event. If Nazo was not participating, their chances of regaining all seven Chaos Emeralds had increased by tenfold. But there were still the other members to worry about – except Nack. Once the Heroes had come to an agreement, they broke the huddle and turned back to Nazo, who seemed to find the sight amusing.

"All right, we have a deal." Shadow answered.

"Meet us at Northern Plains of the Green Hill Zone." Nazo instructed. "It is there we will finally put an end to this."

* * *

The scene alternates to the well-known plains of the Green Hill Zone. Sonic felt a bit of nostalgia when the Sonic Heroes arriving in the grassy land – Team Virtex had also decided to join them. This was the place where Sonic first battled Eggman and the same place where he inherited his reputation as a hero. The gentle winds brushed against the leafy ground, filling their air with the fresh scent of flowers and morning dew. If it wasn't for the upcoming battle, Sonic would have spent the day on memory lane.

"Where are they?" Shadow grunted impatiently.

"You need calm down, Shad." Hybrid smirked.

"Do not call me that!" Shadow snapped. "And I fail to see why the rest of you are so calm. The Dark Rulers will be here at any moment and the fate of the world will come down to the result of this match. I have a reason to be worried."

"Hey, have a little faith." Blue commented. "We already know our strategies. If they choose Erazor, we'll send in Jet. If they choose Corrupt or Rodrigo, Tails and Wave can take care of them. And I'm pretty sure Espio can handle his sister."

"What about Nack?" Raine asked.

The two groups were silent for a moment before bursting out in laughter. Once the hearty shouts had died down, a cloud of immense darkness appeared across the plain. Nazo arrived with Mephiles, Tomo, Shira, Erazor, Nack, and Dark Sonic – the Heroes forgot about his existence. It was only now that they realized Rodrigo and Corrupt were no longer members of the Dark Rulers like Black Doom. Nazo seemed more irritable than ever – he must still be angry about his recent betrayal.

"It's about time!" Vector growled.

"Forgive us for our lateness." Nazo said shortly. "Apparently, someone was busy getting their hair done." They turned their heads to Shira, who grumbled incoherently. "Have you decided will fight for your team."

"We've decided to see who you would choose." Rouge answered.

"Trying to uphold an advantage." Nazo nodded. "That is a very wise tactic, but utterly useless." He turned to Dark Sonic. "Be sure to leave them alive. We wouldn't want their defeat to be dragged down further by a funeral."

"Very well, my lord." Dark nodded.

As the dark counterpart stepped forward, the Sonic Heroes huddle together in desperation. They had clearly not expected Dark Sonic to partake in the battle. The only one that didn't seem interested was Sonic – he glared at his evil half.

"Ok, what's the plan?" Knuckles whispered to his teammates.

"Anyone know how to handle a shadow?" Tikal questioned.

"Statistics show Silver has higher victory rate." Omega stated.

"Then that's the plan." Rector nodded. "Rector nodded. "First we send in..."

"I'm going to fight you!" Sonic shouted to his copy.

"What?!" The Heroes screamed.

They quickly grappled Sonic backwards in rapid succession. Each of the heroes were arguing that Silver would be the best choice for the fight, but Sonic seemed to turn a deaf ear upon his friends. Shadow saw a feint spark in the hedgehog's eyes – it was the flare of determination he had seen many times when facing powerful enemies. It was clear that Sonic was not going to give up his position. With a heavy sigh, Shadow spoke in a clear voice that could be heard over the heated discussion.

"Let him fight."

"Are you crazy, Shadow?!" Amy screeched. "Dark killed my poor Sonic last time!"

"Last time, Dark was given permission to kill him." Shadow stated. "This time, he will be kept on a shorter leash. And besides, if anyone knows how to fight him, it's Sonic."

Amy desperately wanted to argue against him, but could think of nothing to say. Sensing her distress, the blue hero placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Ames." Sonic smiled. "I'll be just fine."

She felt that she could believe him, but something in her heart seemed to have the opposite feeling. Sonic left the safety of his team and crossed the field as his dark counterpart moved forward to meet him. While walking, the blue hedgehog reached deep inside his heart for his happiest thought and activated the Super Form. Dark Sonic hissed slightly from the radiance, but did not back down from the match. The twin warriors of light and darkness met up in the center of the field, only a few feet away from each other. The air around them was unusually thick as spark of power bounced between them.

"Scared, weakling?" Dark taunted.

"Only in your dreams." Sonic scowled.

"What do you say we begin?" Nazo asked aloud to the Heroes. "Why don't you begin the countdown?"

"3..." Howl counted seriously; the hedgehogs gripped their fists. "2..." They slid their feet backwards. "1..." They crouched low to the ground. "Begin!!"

At once, the twin hedgehog rebounded into the air and disappeared in a flash. Even though their actions weren't seen, the impacts of their blows could be spotted in a number of ways – mostly in broken ground. It seems that Shadow was the only hero able to spot them as he grinned and winced at random times. After several uneventful minutes, the ground exploded near the Dark Rulers, nearly knocking the villains off their feet. Dark was lying on his front with Sonic jabbing his knee into the shadow's back. Just as the heroes began to cheer, the evil hedgehog pushed off his counterpart and landed a perfect right hook to his jaw. The Golden hero was tossed into the air, but caught himself at the last moment.

"You've got him on the ropes, mate!" Marine cheered.

"And remember to watch for openings in his defenses!" Shade advised.

"Like I have time for that!" Sonic snapped.

"I suggest you pay attention."

When the golden hedgehog looked back, Dark Sonic grasped his enemy's head and it slammed into his knee. Sonic groaned painfully as he fell backwards, but was caught off guard when his evil doppelganger grasped his ankle. Dark Sonic rushed towards to the ground while still keeping his hold on the golden hero and slammed his counterpart into the ground. After taking a second to shake off the shock, Sonic forced his leg free and curled into his ball form. And before the dark counterpart knew what had happened, the golden sphere had slammed into his chin, sending him hurtling into the sky. But Sonic was far from done. The Golden Hero shot into the air after his evil twin and slammed into the evil hedgehog at multiple opportunities.

"This is not looking good for us." Erazor whispered to Nazo. "That black rat is getting killed."

"Not to worry." Nazo responded coolly; his eyes never leaving the fight. "Just stick to the plan and everything will turn out well."

"But..."

"Be silent, Erazor." Mephiles hissed. "Remember why you joined us in the first place."

Erazor sneered at the thought – Nazo still held control over his lamp. Back in the battle, Dark Sonic had finally broken free from his entrapment by kicking at the shining ball during its next pass. Sonic skid across the grass before uncurling and landing back to his feet. In the next moment, he was forced to duck when his counterpart's foot was soaring over his head. He avoided the blow, but was unsuspecting to the fist that was directed for his throat. At the last second, Sonic tilted his head forward and allowed the blow to strike at his forehead. The impact shot the hero backwards close to his team while remaining on his feet, but the hedgehog could swear his skull had been crack – blood was leaking.

"You certainly are resilient for someone of a weaker half." Dark Sonic panted; he was growing tired.

"Who are you calling weak?" Sonic groaned as his vision began to blur. "Last time I looked, you were the one trapped in my heart. If I was the weak one, it would be the other way around."

"Do not take the situation so lightly." Dark Sonic glared. "My birth was through your cumulative hatred. The hatred for the father who abandoned you. The hatred for the enemies that haunt you. As long as that hatred exists, I will always live."

"Then I'll just have to get rid of that hatred." Sonic said determined.

"Can you do it?" Dark Sonic questioned. "We live in a world where people hurt others by living. I learned from a wise man that hatred is an endless cycle that cannot be broken. Believing otherwise is a delusional fantasy."

"My dad might be a pirate, but he always had a greater dream." Sonic stated confidently. "After becoming the Pirate King, he met a man who gave him a greater goal to work for. This man said that if there was such a thing as peace, he would find it." Heroes and villains alike watched with interest at his words. "I believe in what that man said."

"_This man..._" Nazo thought interestingly. "_Could it be...?_"

"You pathetic dreamer." Dark Sonic laughed, holding out his fight hand. "I think it's time I woke you up."

Sonic said nothing and copied the movement of his counterpart. Both hedgehog simultaneously gather a large amount of energy into their palms and reshaped them into the form of a sphere. Sonic collected a sphere of blue energy while his evil twin formed one from black Chaos Energy. Without a word, both warriors dashed forced at a blinding pace and slammed their exclusive attacks against one another.

"**Sonic Wind!!**"

"**Dark Wind!!**"

Upon impact, the collective forces exploded into a sphere of navy-blue. Many of the smaller heroes were shot backwards from the increased force and most of the watchers staggered on their feet – Nazo remained perfectly still. When the light had finally died down, a blurred figure could be seen standing over a fallen lump. Both sides waited in anticipation for the outcome. When the cloud had finally vanished they would learn the winner was...

"Dark Sonic appears to be the victor." Nazo smirked.

The Heroes groaned. Dark Sonic appeared to be weak, but was still standing while Sonic remained unconscious at his feet – his Super Form was dispelled.

"For this victory, I believe our prize is well earned." Shira sniggered playfully.

Knuckles, who was holding the three emeralds, seemed hesitant to move.

"We can't give it to them!" Silver protested. "We know what will happen if they have all the Chaos Emeralds."

"But we made a promise." Cream informed.

"You made more than a promise." Nazo informed. "When you agreed to this battle, you unintentionally signed a verbal contract. You have no choice to obey the rules of engagement."

"Unfortunately, he's right." Hybrid hissed.

Thought willing to resist, Knuckles slowly crossed the field, carrying the Chaos Emerald cautiously in his arms. As he crossed paths with Dark Sonic, he felt a momentary lapse of fright. Once reached the God of Darkness, Knuckles presented the Chaos Emeralds to Nazo, who had trouble removing the mystical gems. After removing them from the echidna's clutches, he held the emerald to the sun to gaze through their flawless shape.

"Magnificent as always." Nazo whispered pleasurably.

"You've got the Chaos Emeralds." Knuckle glared. "Now you can leave."

"Oh, not just yet." Nazo grinned. "We have one other prize we wish to collect."

At once, the remaining Dark Rulers jumped across the field into the heart of the Heroes. When looking back, Knuckles ultimately left himself open for Nazo to strike from behind. Meanwhile, Mephiles and Erazor formed a whirlwind of darkness to push away the Heroes as the rest of the team went to work. Tomo struck several nerves in Shadow's body, rendering him paralyze. Nack placed a well-aimed shot to Hybrid's spine to immobilize him. And Shira grappled Silver into a sleeper hold until he lost consciousness. The Dark Rulers collected their prizes and dragged the hedgehogs back to their master – Dark Sonic carried his counterpart.

"Hey, this wasn't part of the deal!" Raine screamed.

"You should have been more specific about the terms of agreement." Nazo cackled.

"You unhand my Sonic right now!" Amy roared furiously

Despite the protests of her friends, the pink hedgehog summoned the Piko-Piko Hammer and charged at Nazo. But much like before, the Dark Ruler was able to knock the weapon out of her hand and push her to the ground. But Amy was persistent. Even without her hammer, she attempted to fight Nazo with her bare hands. While he did find this amusing, the God of Darkness grew tired after knocking the hedgehog female away fifteen times.

"Just surrender." Nazo suggested. "You're not powerful enough to beat me."

"I would never give up." Amy panted weakly. "Sonic would never give up."

"You are pathetic." Nazo sighed irritably. "You are stupid enough to throw away your life for this rat."

"At least I have something worth fighting for!" Amy seethed.

For a moment, Nazo was about to retort until he noticed something strange. The seven Chaos Emeralds he had collected began to flash unusually bright in a similar manner to when Sonic used them. There was a momentary flash of anxiety when snapping his attention back to the female. All groups were mystified as a sudden radiance began to surround Amy Rose with her quills floating slightly. Her fur started blinking between her normal color and a sunny-gold. It seemed like Amy had finally succeeded in unlocking the Super Form. However, the golden light suddenly died down and Amy's fur returned to its natural state. It took a moment, but Nazo could not resist laughing at the poor hedgehog.

"I should have known!" Nazo cackled. "A pathetic insect like you could never contain the power of the Super Form. You are just a hopeless dreamer living in a fantasy. Well, it's time to wake up, girl."

The rest of the Dark Ruler joined in with their master as they faded into the cloud of darkness, carrying their new trophies. While the Heroes picked themselves up, Amy dropped to her knee and allowed the flow of tears to crawl down her face.

"I just....wasn't good enough." Amy sobbed. "I'm sorry...Sonic."

**

* * *

**

A thin line exists between dreams and reality. What will become of the captured hedgehogs? How will the Sonic Heroes return to their lost members? And will Amy recover from this emotional blow? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!!

**Please, read and review.**


	82. Shadow of the Rulers, Part 2

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Tomo © Kiba Sniper

Note: This is the last chapter before the Final Season

Chapter Eighty-Two: Shadow of the Rulers, Part 2

The scene opens to the Sonic Heroes base, which was currently in panic. After their defeat at the hands of the Dark Rulers during the previous day, they torment was increased with the theft of Hybrid and their leaders. At the moment, the Heroes and Team Virtex were present in the workshop as Tail was working with the Vortex Disruptor.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Howl asked skeptically.

"Well, I've only used the Vortex Disruptor as a viewing portal." Tails answered nervously while tinkering with the machine. "I based the project off of Hybrid's plans during the Nocturnus invasion and designed the bodywork from Shade's Warp Belt. In theory, the relative mass of the transported substance should interact with the space/time...."

"Can we get to the point?" Blaze snapped impatiently; she had become rather irritable after Silver's capture.

"It will work...hopefully." Tails added softly. "I just need to reroute the coordinates."

"So, what's the plan, Knuckles?" Vector asked.

Since the previous absence of their leaders, Knuckles was always assigned to take over in case all three leaders were no longer available to provide.

"Once Tails gets the portal open," Knuckles announced. "Five of us should sneak in and get Sonic and the others out. Once they find them, they'll need to capture at least two of the emeralds and get out."

"Why only five?" Blue interrogated. "If all of us go in, we'd have a better chance of beating the Dark Rulers."

"But that's exactly what Nazo will be expecting." Knuckles said sagely. "Like Tails said, this portal is a one way tunnel. Once all of us are on the other side, Nazo and the Dark Rulers will take the Chaos Emerald and return to this dimension. That will leave us trapped in their dimension and leave the world open for Nazo to conquer."

"With five on one side," Omega screeched. "The rest will be able monitor the situation if such a plot is possible."

"We aren't looking for a fight." Knuckles stated. "We just need to get in and out. I've already decided that Amy, Kumori, Jet, Blue, and Shade will take over the mission." He turned to the emerald hawk. "Jet, you're in charge of the mission."

"You got it!" Jet saluted.

"I'm afraid that Shade won't be joining you." Rector proclaimed, ignoring Shade's moaning. " She, unfortunately, has homework to do and is required to complete it is she wants to have a job." He moved his hand in front of his mouth to whisper into the echidna's ear. "But mostly, I'm worried about my sister."

The twins of red turned their heads to the pink hedgehog, who sitting in the corner, staring at the ground. Ever since her failure to access the Super Form, Amy had forced herself into a state of self-depression. Tikal explained that miscalculating the powers of the Chaos Emeralds generally affected a person's emotions in a negative manner. Knuckles nodded at the same moment Tails activated the Vortex Disruptor, which revealed a hole of darkness.

"I set the coordinates to the lowest region of their domain." Tails explained. "Once you go through, there will be no way of getting back without the Chaos Emeralds. So make sure you have everything."

"Ready to go, team?" Jet asked.

"Ready." Rector nodded.

"All set and raring to go." Blue said eagerly, punching his fists together.

"I think we're prepared." Kumori huffed, lifting Amy onto her back. "Geez, did she gain wait or something?"

"Did you just call me fat?!" Amy screeched.

It seemed those particular string of words was enough to break the rosy hedgehog out of her stupor. Amy jumped of her rival's back and summoned the Piko-Piko Hammer before swinging it around at every direction. The rest of the team had already vanished through the portal before the calamity broke loose. The Shadow prototype managed to trick Amy to the Vortex Disruptor and trip her rival through the portal before jumping in herself.

* * *

The scene alternates to the dreary and hopeless dimension of the Dark Ruler's castle. Within the white walls of the medieval domain, a portal of the Vortex Disruptor opens at the stairway in the lowest region of the castle. Jet, Blue, and Rector landed safely on their feet upon entering, but were unfortunately knocked down when Amy and Kumori tumbled in. Because of the unexpected event, the group was piled on top of one another and rolled down the stairway. They were only stopped when smacking into black door with a large red gem.

So much for a stealth entrance." Blue's muffled voice complained.

They untangled themselves and stood up.

"Ok, Tails gave me the layout of the castle." Rector informed. He held out a small metal sphere, which displayed the miniature hologram of the Dark Castle. "There are twelve levels in the castle. We are on the first level and Nazo's last position was record on the eighth level. That means we have seven levels of stairs to travel."

"Uh...you guys go on ahead." Jet said animatedly while staring at the door.

"What?" Kumori questioned strangely. "Knuckles made you the leader of this mission."

"Yeah, and I'm ordering you to go on ahead." Jet order, finally giving them his attention. "Don't worry, I'll be up in a minute."

"Just don't take too long." Amy sighed.

The emerald hawk nodded and waited until his team was out of sight before looking back to the door. He couldn't explain why, but there was something behind the door that seemed to attract him – to call out to him. There was no handle, but when was the last time Jet ever walked in quietly. The Babylon prince held out his left arm – pushing out the green Ark – and summoned the forces of gravity to slam the door off its hinges. Crossing the threshold, he found himself to be in a room that was empty with the exception of the two white marble thrones.

"That's weird." Jet noted strangely. "My instincts usually never fail me." He turned to leave when he noticed something glimmering out of the corner of his eyes. "Now, what do we have here."

The Babylon Rogue crossed the room towards the glimmering object and stopped in front of the opposite throne. Judging by his expression, Jet had just stumbled upon a valuable treasure. He hastily stuffed the object into his feathers when he heard something just within reach of his hearing – a trail of footsteps. Quick as a flash, Jet whipped out his feathered fans, which collided with a familiar razor-blade.

"It's been a while, Jet the Hawk." Erazor smirked.

"Erazor..." Jet hissed. "Somehow, this doesn't really surprise me."

"You are a very foolish pigeon to cross into my domain." Erazor sniggered.

"How many times do I have to say it!!" Jet screeched furiously. "I – AM – A – HAWK!!"

But the dark djinn seemed to turn a deaf ear to his yells, which is a miracle in on itself. Jet pushed back the razor-blade and swung his foot around to kick, which was blocked by Erazor's knee. Of course, this turned out to be a mistake on Erazor's part as the kick was stronger than normal and nearly fractured his kneecap. When the dark djinn forced to his knees, Jet jumped into the air with his fathered fans crossed for the end blow. Unfortunately, Erazor seemed to catch a second wind and jumped to his feet faster than the eye could see – he swiped his blade to push back the hawk. Jet smacked against the white throne, groaning loudly – his feathered fans dropped on either side.

"Ooh, that's gonna hurt in the morning." Jet moaned.

"Filthy winged rodent." Erazor sneered, stabbing his blade close to his enemy's head. "If I wasn't under orders, I would have you slain on the spot. Be grateful that Lord Nazo wants you back alive."

"Well, you're gonna have a hard time taking me!" Jet exclaimed. He reached into his feather and pulled out Babylon's greatest treasure: the Crystal Box. But instead of radiating its usual light, the box dimmed darkly. "What the? What's wrong with the treasure of Babylon?"

"That's right, I forgot to mention that." Erazor chuckled humorously. "In this dimension, light is useless and darkness is all-powerful. Rotten luck for you."

The last thing Jet saw was Erazor's fist flying forward before blacking out.

Meanwhile, the scene alternates to the fifth level of the castle, three floors below their designated target. With Jet temporarily defected, Blue took it upon himself to become leader until the emerald hawk returned. The rest of the group could understand why Knuckles had assigned him to the team – Blue could use his skills to scout ahead for signs of danger. Every time they would reach another floor, Blue would detach a fragment of himself in the form of a small insect and see through their eyes. But the lack of defenses had them on the edge.

"Ok, this is getting ridiculous." Kumori complained. "In a castle this big, you would think they would have something guarding the place."

"Count your blessings." Rector said dully.

"She has a point, you know." Amy noted. "Eggman might slip up occasionally, but real villains like Metal and Nazo wouldn't leave their territory unguarded. The Dark Rulers must have something up their sleeve."

"And I haven't seen Jet lately." Blue added cautiously. "Maybe we should double back and – something just took out my scout!"

They didn't need to ask who it was before a hail of gunfire forced them closer to the edge of the corridor. Nack was firing with excellent accuracy and managed to hit Blue, who wasn't bothering to take cover. The mercenary was forced to remember from previous experience that bullets had no effect on the Chaos clone. Blue stretched his claw to reach for Nack's throat, forcing the pistols out of the weasel's hands. Unfortunately, it was mere moments before he was splattered along the wall after discovering a bomb in his chest – he was powerless to reform. Looking to the other end of the corridor, the Heroes spotted Shira holding a bomb in her hand why Tomo retrieved the contents of Blue.

"What did you do to him?!" Amy screeched horrifically.

"Vibration bomb." Shira answered superiorly. "Can render any matter useless at the touch of a button. But don't worry, your friend isn't dead."

"At least not until Lord Nazo is finish with him." Tomo smirked.

"Well, you were complaining that there wasn't enough mayhem." Rector said to Kumori. "Now is your chance. You two take care of the girl while I get rid of the rat with the overbite."

"It a genetic defect!!" Nack screamed.

"Not a chance of that happening, red-hot." Shira said seductively, snaking her arm around Rector's chest. "It's about time the girls get to play with their favorite toy."

"I – um – ugh..." Rector stammered stupidly.

"Get your hands off my brother!!" Amy roared.

The pink hedgehog summoned the Piko-Piko Hammer to her hand, but consequently felt it slip through her fingers. Looking back, she spotted Dark Sonic snapping her weapon in two while Kumori was fighting Mephiles in the background.

"Time to play." Dark Sonic chuckled.

The battles could not have been more one-sided. Being as chivalrous as he was, Rector followed the code of not being able to hit females, which to be a disadvantage. After seducing Rector to a defenseless state, the path was left open for Tomo to strike with a particularly aggressive fireball. Rector managed snap out of his state at the last minute and thrusted his fist at the flaming sphere to dissolve it – burn mark were left on his arm. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a decoy as Shira emerged from the cinder with a metallic disk in her hand. She latched the disk to the hedgehog's chest and stepped back as a powerful surge of electricity flowed through his body, rendering him unconscious

"I don't care what anyone says." Tomo said victoriously to Shira. "You're much smarter than that multi-tailed runt."

"I do my best." Shira said with a mocking laugh.

"Rector!" Amy cried.

"I think you should be more concerned for your own pretty head." Dark Sonic taunted.

He may have appeared like Sonic in body, but he held not of the warmth and kindness she met from experience. This pushed away any emotional disadvantages. Unfortunately, Dark Sonic was still as strong as any Super Form and effortlessly knocked away Amy hammers with a flick of his wrist. The pink hedgehog kept tossing a number of hammers, each more useless than the last. Dark SOnic was only five feet away – Amy was shaking in fear.

"K-Kumori..." Amy quivered. "I c-could use s-s-some help."

"I've got my own problems!" Kumori shouted, attempting a jab for Mephiles' head. "Just trying to stay out of his way and..."

The second half of her advise remained unknown. During her momentary distraction, Mephiles had released a Chaos Spear to her navel and thrusted the prototype to the wall – the midriff of her shirt was shredded. Kumori was barely able to release a sudden gasp before the temporal demon grasped her head and slammed it to his knee, effectively knocking her out.

"Kumori?" Amy murmured fearfully.

"I think the rescue squad is in need of a rescue now." Dark Sonic joked; the villains laughed.

Knowing she couldn't possibly win, Amy strung up all her courage and raised her hammer to the vile copy. Unfortunately, Dark Sonic pushed her hand away and slammed his fist into Amy's gut. She could just make out the blurred outline of the hedgehog before fading into the realm of darkness.

* * *

"I can't understand why we can't kill them now?" An agitated voice questioned.

"Be patient, Tomo." A calm voice replied.

"You're asking for a miracle, boss." A snippy voice laughed; a smack followed. "Ow! What did I do?!"

"Shut it, you fools." A cold voice commanded. "The last of them is coming to."

As the voices stop, Amy slowly opened her eyes to the scene before her. Her vision was blurred for a short while due to the time she was unconscious, but slowly began to distinguish the shape and colors. She was tired up against the wall by a band of pure darkness that was connected with the rest of her team, who must have woken up sooner than her. The Dark Rulers were gathered in what she suspected to be a throne room as Nazo was sitting upon a white marble chair in the heart of the room. Behind them, the captured hedgehogs from the previous day were hung from the ceiling. All four heroes looked ragged and bruised from endless torture.

"Welcome to the realm of the living, my dear." Nazo said smugly.

"Nazo, don't you dare hurt them." Sonic growled.

"Who said we were going to waste our time on them?" Mephiles sneered.

"But you promised..." Erazor sputtered.

"You will have your chance, Erazor." Nazo said coolly, raising his hand to stop him. "But first, I would prefer an audience for the final punishment. Torturing the prisoners is no longer interesting."

"Speak for yourself." Shira mumbled to Mephiles.

"You can't do this, Nazo." Blue proclaimed. "Not after all you and Sonic went through together. I saw what happened during the time the planet broke apart. You cannot just kill him after going through all that."

"Actually, he can." Sonic said nervously.

"Not helping!!" The Heroes yelled simultaneously

"He's right – I can." Nazo chuckled lowly, stepping down from his throne. "I only needed Sonic's assistance so that I could regain the power of Chaos Emeralds and restore my original power. Of course..." He transformed his left hand to ice. "It had its other benefits."

"Please, don't hurt my Sonic." Amy pleaded. "Please, just let him go."

"Aw, young love." Nazo said emotionally. He raised his hand to the ceiling, calling down the seven Chaos Emeralds to his place. "I also felt the sting of losing someone I once loved. It pained me to watch helplessly as the one I once called my friend kill her right before my eyes." He turned to Amy. "Prove to me how much you love him."

"Please..." Amy sobbed, falling forward in a pathetic position. "Please...don't hurt Sonic."

"So, you really do love him." Nazo said coldly. "In that case....the answer is no."

Without warning, the God of Darkness stabbed his palm into Sonic's chest, releasing a current of energy. The blue hedgehog tried to hold in his pain, but the pressure was too much and forced a wail of desperation from his throat. During all this, Amy continually pleaded for the Dar k Ruler to stop. But instead of listening, he just increased the power added to his hand. She didn't know what she could do against the master of evil, but she knew she couldn't just stand around and allow this to continue. Without even realizing what she had done, the pink hedgehog suddenly snapped free from her bonds and dashed across the room. The Dark Rulers were stunned and did nothing to stop her. The last thing Nazo could remember was the rosy rascal coming up and slamming her fist into his cheek – he was shot through the wall. The preempted strike seemed to have released the Heroes from their hold – Sonic grabbed Amy as she fell to the side.

"Amy, are you ok?" Sonic asked worried.

"I'm fine." Amy answered tiredly. "I'm just glad your safe."

"That was a pretty crazy thing you did, Ames." Silver smiled.

"That's the thing drives me crazy." Sonic smirked devilishly.

"My Lord, are you all right?" Mephiles asked concerned.

"Out of my way!" Nazo growled, pushing his servants to one side. One the Heroes were in sight, he held out a hand to Amy. "I've been foolish to let you live this long. I will admit that it was my greatest flaw. But now I will correct it. Die, Sonic Heroes!!"

Exerting all his powers into his hands, Nazo expelled a lethal blast for the Heroes. Both groups quickly ducked for cover with the exception of Sonic, who covered Amy with his own body. The rest of the group yelled for him to move, but it was already too late – the blast exploded and filled a majority of the room in smoke. Nazo grinned victoriously while the rest of his team laughed and cheered. But his smile faltered, which was soon discovered by the rest of the Dark Rulers. As the smoke vanished, they learned that the Chaos Emeralds had dropped from sight and a new spectacle emerged over the throne. Sonic had activated his Super Form, but he was not alone. Amy's fur had transformed into a metallic gold with her quills floating freely in midair. She had done what was thought to be impossible – she unlocked the Super Form.

"Amy..." Rector murmured softly.

"Hey, guys." Amy waved cheerfully. "How's it going?"

"But that's impossible!" Shadow exclaimed. "You can't access the Super form! You can't perform Chaos Control!"

"Aw, stop being logical, Shadow." Kumori whined, slapping her boyfriend's shoulder.

"Hey, we could use some help." Sonic smirked, holding out his hands with Amy. "Why don't we improvise?"

The golden duo began distributing their chaotic energy between the heroes, but very few could take it in. Shadow and Silver awakened their Super Forms of their free will and Hybrid once again possessed the powers of the Hyper Form. However, Rector and Kumori were a different case. Though they both appeared in pain, this only lasted until bright flashes of light escaped them. Kumori's fur was a lemon-yellow with her quills floating freely and Rector fur was a silver-gold. Jet and Blue stared in awe at the seven heroes before them.

"Impossible..." Nazo whispered softly. "The servers of the seven Chaos."

"My lord, what do we do?!" Shira asked frantically; Nazo failed to respond. "My Lord?!"

"If he won't do anything, I will!" Erazor roared.

The dark djinn whipped out his razor-blade and lunged forward to the seven glowing life-forms. Rector turned just in time as Erazor brought down his blade. The glowing warriors grabbed the blade in his hand – his grip resisted the djinn's tug – and snapped the sword in two. Before Erazor could realize his position, Shadow came forward and jabbed his fist into the djinn's stomach. Erazor held himself in the navel before falling forward.

"Anyone else?" Shadow challenged.

"We can't let them take over!" Tomo screeched.

"You can do whatever you want, sister!" Nack screamed shrilly. "But I'm getting the hell out of here?!"

"Coward!" Tomo yelled at Nack's fleeting backside.

Only three capable fighters were left for the Dark Rulers – the tables had turned. Tomo performed a series of hand signs and thrusted her hands forward to unleash a hail of black lightning. Fortunately, Silver conjured a sphere of physic energy around the lightning to contain it before crushing it to oblivion. Hybrid decided to have a little fun of his own and return with an electricity storm. Tomo was caught instantaneously in the shock and fell backward – her body was crispy and black. Mephiles snarled as he dived forward with his own wave of attacks. But at the moment, Kumori managed to zip towards the temporal demon and grab both of his wrists.

"Bring back old memories, doesn't it?" Kumori smirked.

"I swear, I will kill you." Mephiles proclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah." Kumori said nonchalantly.

The golden prototype flipped backwards and struck the dark demon in the chin. She rebounded off the floor as Mephiles stumbled backwards and twisted her foot to nail him in the forehead – he was splattered across the wall. All that was left was Dark Sonic. The evil counterpart was originally seeking to battle his good half before thinking better of it to fight his love.

"I could cause Sonic endless physical pain." Dark Sonic stated. "But emotional pain will be much sweeter."

"It's time you pay for your crimes." Amy scowled.

She did not have her hammer, Dark Sonic noted, which left her at his mercy. The dark entity zipped forward and thrusted his fist forward to make contact. However, much to Dark Sonic's surprise, it had made contact with Amy's open palm. With a smile present on her face, Amy spun around and tossed the dark copy over her shoulder. Dark Sonic crashed through the wall, but Amy was far from finished. The golden female curled herself into a ball and chased after the evil monster, landing numerous blows as the wandered through the castle. Even from the outside, one could hear the castle structure slowly weakening as Amy crushed the dark hedgehog against the wall. It was only when they returned to the throne room and Sonic stopped her did the damage come to an end.

"Ok, Amy, I think you got him." Sonic said nervously.

"Sorry." Amy apologized sheepishly. "Kinda lost my temper."

"And you!" Sonic snapped to Nazo. "You've just about lost your army. You might as well give up – even you can defeat seven Super Forms."

Looking around, Nazo couldn't have agreed anymore. Even if he used the Perfect Form, his body would collapse upon itself without the Chaos Emeralds at his side. With a heavy sigh, the God of Darkness waved his hand to the wall and summoned a portal of pure darkness. The Heroes nodded and – grabbing Jet and Blue – disappeared beyond the barrier.

* * *

"A toast!" Super Shadow announced. "To another successful victory!"

The rest of the heroes raised their glasses. It was nighttime when Amy and the others returned to their dimension, so the Heroes decided to host an starlight victory celebration. The golden warriors decided to remain in the Super Forms for a short while longer to allow the newcomers to enjoy their temporary power. Rector was trying to impress Shade and his team by lifting heavy oak trees and Kumori was trying to learn a new form of dancing with Tikal and Blaze.

"You know, I could get used to this." Hyper Hybrid nodded happily.

"Enjoy it while it lasts." Silver smirked. "Once this night is over, the Chaos Emeralds will be scattered and the Super Forms will be gone for a long time."

"Speaking of the Super Form." Rector said sadly; Knuckles lifted more trees than him. "Have you seen Amy or Sonic anywhere."

"Oh, I'm sure they're around somewhere." Silver said playfully.

In the starry sky above, two shining lights crossed the velvety night sky. Sonic and Amy floated happily across the clouds, watching the events from below. Watching from a planes was one thing, but seeing the world with your own eyes was a different case – it was magical. Sonic was willing to share this moment for her only. It was then Amy knew that nothing could change his heart and feelings for her. Like the sun and the moon, they were meant for one another.

* * *

The scene alternate to the destroyed castle of the Dark Rulers. Nazo resumed his seat in the throne room amongst the debris left from Amy's onslaught. The God of Darkness held his hands wrapped over one another and stared intently at the board before him. Nothing had changed. The cycle was to repeat itself again.

"My Lord." Mephiles addressed upon entering. "The damage to the castle is extensive. Shall we continue forward with the repairs?"

"There is no point." Nazo answered in a hallowed voice. "The castle has served its purpose. We no longer have a need for it."

"Then what do we do know?" Mephiles asked.

"We prepare for the final stages." Nazo replied as he stood from his throne. "Mephiles, I want everyone stationed at their posts. We once have one chance at this." The dark demon nodded and vanished in a sphere of darkness. "But even so, the possibility that those females can access the Super Form without Chaos Control disturbs me. That only leaves one question."

"What is Zeenint planning?"

**

* * *

**

The Pathways of Light and Darkness cross together. What difference will these new Super Forms make in the Dark War? What is Nazo's final plan? And what does Zeenint have to do with this? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!!

**Please, read and review.**

**

* * *

**The Series is coming close to an end, but there are s few ties to end. Which will it be?

A) Kadaj

B) Eggman Nega

C) Orion

VOTE NOW!!


	83. Cat Fight

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Armand the Tiger © SupergamerGreg79  
Emily Leot © Emily Blue Paw

Chapter Eighty-Three: Cat Fight

The scene returns to the Australian outback, which seemed to become a big attraction for an assortment of wildlife. As the predators prowled the plains for food, they were careful to avoid a specific place in the plains. Hidden behind the tall grass was a small clearing that supplied plenty of fruit from the trees and a crystal clear watering hole. The kangaroos were dominant in this territory, but only because of their protector. Armand the Tiger was leaning back on one of the curved trees, somewhat playing with his watch.

"Come on!" Armand moaned. "How can you not get cell phone service out here?!" He fell back and covered his eyes with his paw. "Well, I guess Chinese is out."

Not much has happened to Armand since his departure from Eastern Island with the rest of the Heroes. Besides becoming an official Sonic Hero, things have been very dull around these parts – Armand was considering psychology. Suddenly, a twig was snapped somewhere in the tall grass and the kangaroos heard it. Armand only noticed there was imminent trouble when his charges started twitching agitatedly. The tiger flipped backwards into the tree and of sight. It was common for him to ward off predators – they never seemed to learn their lesson. He could hear the animal crouching lowly behind the tall grass. After a moment or two of waiting, the creature pounced and so did Armand. The tiger of the future captured the creature by surprise and tumbled into the grass while the kangaroos stood back to watch. Armand had to admit that this beast was unusually strong compared to the others as they tumbled across the plain. Then, without warning, he something hit at his lower region – HARD!

"Why is it always there?" Armand squeaked painfully.

"I know that squeal anywhere." A soft, growling voice said. "Armand, is that you?"

"Emily?" Armand grunted.

Though painfully, Armand forced himself to sit up and glance at the stranger He could never forget that glistening ocean-blue fur, those soft green eyes, or the sound of her angelic voice. If you haven't figured it out by now, Armand was deeply in love. Emily Leot crouch to Armand's level and rested a delicate paw on his maw, caressing it softly.

"Wow, I really didn't expect to see you here." Emily giggled. "Sorry about giving your kids a migraine."

"I'm used to it by now." Armand groaned as he slowly stood up. "You would be surprise at how many women do that."

"And why would they?" Emily glared suspiciously.

"Uh...no reason." Armand answered shiftily.

As they walked back to the watering hole, Armand could feel Emily's gaze piercing through the back of his skull. Once situating themselves comfortably and filed their stomachs with fruit, they went in depth about their lives after Hybrid's tournament. Apparently, Emily's life was much more exiting than Armand had expected. The young cheetah was apparently on a hunt for some man call Lunar, who seemed to hold an unknown connection to her. She never specified if she found him or not, but Armand had to guess that he had not succeeded.

"Sounds like you've lived an interesting life." Armand commented. "The most excitement we get around here is a two minute stampede."

"I thought you would have been doing research on your father." Emily said. "You sounded like you really wanted to know everything about him during the tournament."

"I know everything I need to." Armand shrugged, watching the flowing leaves above. "My father and Eggman Nega were archenemies until Silver showed up. When there was nothing left to do, he came back to the past and met my mother. He was partners with Naga the Snake and created the watch before he learned what Naga wanted to use it for." He stared at his wrist for said device. "My dad never told me what it was originally used for and I never found out. He went back to the future one last time and ended up in some apocalyptic version. He was killed by a monster named Iblis."

"I'm sorry, Armand." Emily said apologetically.

"There's nothing to apologize for." Armand shrugged. "That's the past. "Right now, I'm more concerned for the future."

"And what exactly do you have planned?" Emily asked with her brow raised.

"I'm thinking of quitting this hero life and settling down." Armand stated. "I might explore the world for a few more years, meet some girl, get married, and have a couple of children. I would prefer one of each for variety's sake."

"You've really thought ahead." Emily smirked, nudging closer to the tiger. "So...any requirements you looking for in a woman?"

"Eh, I guess she would have to be strong." Armand answered, unknown to Emily's movements. "She would need to know how to take care of herself in case I'm not there to help her. Very smart and very beautiful."

"Anything else?" Emily asked seductively, pushing close to Armand's chest.

"Well..." Armand said flustered. "My favorite color has always been blue."

"Isn't that a coincidence?" Emily grinned.

Armand could feel the heat radiating from his face – he was sure there was steam escaping from his ears. The sapphire cheetah pushed herself closer so that she was resting out the male's chest and inched herself closer to his face. If memory served, every time the felines would get close, something would always interrupt them. But being deserted in the middle of nowhere, what were the chances of that happening? Very good, in fact. As they were so wrapped up in the moment, they failed to notice the kangaroos hopping away frantically. However, just were they were a few centimeters away, Emily's ear twitched and the cheetah dragged Armand to the ground. And not a moment too soon as tree was suddenly incinerated by a blue laser.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Armand whined.

"I don't often kid, my feline friend." A cold and familiar voice laughed.

At the sound, the duo snapped their heads to the sky, where they found a familiar character flying in an unusual craft. They almost mistook him for Eggman before noticing the differences. His attire consisted of a black/yellow coat, his mustache was an elderly grey, and his wicked smile showed cruelty and vindictiveness. Armand knew him straight away.

"Eggman Nega!" Armand exclaimed.

"It's been a while, Armand." Nega cackled wickedly.

"You know this Eggman wannabe?" Emily questioned.

"That's Eggman Nega – the guy I told you about." Armand explained. "He and my dad were enemies for a long time before Silver took over the show. Last time I saw him was during the tournament."

"It's so nice to see that you remember so much." Nega grinned. "I had almost thought you had forgotten."

"What are you doing here?" Armand sneered.

"Well, I actually didn't have a choice." Nega explained. "After being banished by that insufferable echidna and that genetic freak of nature, I decided to make my own attempts to take over the world. But when I learned of threats such as Nazo and my own creation, Metal Sonic, I realized I couldn't win. The only way I would be able to take the world for my own is if the other competition never existed. And that leads me to you."

"Why me?" Armand asked.

"You never knew why Naga wanted to build that device." Nega sniggered darkly. "It's true that it is a powerful weapon, but it has a far greater function. That watch of yours can map out the timeline and open access portals that lead directly to that time. Your father used a prototype to travel between the past and future. But something malfunctioned and he suffered a grueling demise."

"That watch is a map of time?" Emily said amazed.

"Yes, but unfortunately, Tobias thought it was too powerful for one man to handle." Nega scowled spitefully. "He placed an inhibitor chip inside the watch to make sure only those who knew the combination could access it. It will take some time, but once I unlock its secrets, I will travel back in time and eliminate Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"What's Sonic got to do with this?" Emily questioned.

"He's the source of everything." Nega proclaimed. "It was because of his foolishness that allowed Nazo to escape from his prison. And it was through his DNA that Metal Sonic was created. And worst of all, Silver is his only descendent. With Sonic out of the picture, my dear ancestor, Dr. Eggman, will have no trouble conquering the world. And the, one day, the Eggman Empire will belong to me!"

"You're a few screws loose." Armand commented. "There is no way I'm going to hand over the watch."

"Of course not." Nega grinned wickedly. "Where's the fun in that. I plan to rip it from your dead carcass!"

The maniacal doctor slammed him fist onto a button in his machine, shortly followed by a tremendous earthquake. Animals scurried and scattered as the land began to fracture while Emily and Armand struggled to remain standing. With a cackling laugh, Eggman Nega landed his craft at the head of his machine. It was a large, purple, mechanized creature with four extendable claws on its sides and a lashing tail at the bottom.

"You're time is at an end, Armand!" Nega proclaimed. "Nothing can defeat the invisible Nega-Geddon!"

"Nega-Geddon?" Emily repeated, muffling her laughs. "Is this guy serious?" A mechanical claw stabbed directly between the two. "What do you know, he is serious."

"And out of line." Armand glared. "This time, I'm going to finish what my dad started."

"Then come, Armand!" Nega challenged. "Let's match wits with each other and prove who is superior!"

At that, Armand touched his watch and called his signature laser blade from the Realm of Nothingness. At the same time, the gem in Emily's navel glowed and formed into energy claws around her hands – she was not going to miss out on this. Nega commanded two of the claws to strike at their positions, but the feline duo had already jumped into the air. Armand landed on one of the claws that were stabbed into the ground and slashed his blades across them, only to discover it was perfectly intact. Emily tried the same thing with her energy claws and couldn't even produce a scratch. When she wasn't looking, a second claw appeared to the left and slammed against the back of Emily's head. The action sent the cheetah flailing into Armand and landed both of them in the watering hole. Emily hissed from the contact and started slashing at everything in sight until she could carry herself to the ground. Armand emerged a moment later while stitching his ear back to his head.

"Next time, give a person a little warning." Armand requested dully.

"Sorry." Emily said sheepishly. "Cats hate water, you know."

"I know." Armand said monotonously.

"Ah, I see you took notice to my silicon carbide-based armor." Nega sniggered. "The Nega-Geddon is indestructible from any outside forces! I have created the ultimate weapon!"

"Outside forces?" Armand questioned interestingly. "Only outside, not inside?"

"Seems like a pretty big flaw, eh?" Emily smirked.

"I...Uh...ooh." Nega groaned at his mistake.

"That's the one thing you got to love about him." Armand sniggered. "He's a good source of information."

Nega slammed his fists on the console in frustration – the claw began spinning like saw-blades. The feline duo dived away as they tornado of blades slashed across the landscape, cutting the grass to a perfect size. Unfortunately, this left Emily without cover when she accidentally tripped on a rock. She slashed her energy claws to keep the blades away, but knew perfectly that she was pinned in a corner. Just as the Nega-Geddon swiped its blades downwards over the cheetah until a red laser formed out of nowhere and burned against the machine's chest. There was no mark indicating that any damage had been done, but it did push him back far enough away from Emily. Nega growled and redirected his attention to Armand, whose watch was smoking from overheating.

"Not a very smart move, boy." Nega sniggered. "That attack depletes your watches power for an hour. You're defenseless."

"I learned a few things while I was here." Armand proclaimed. He moved into a stance that could be recognized at Tiger-Style Martial Arts. "It's good to have a friend that is obsessed with fighting."

"You think you can defeat the Nega-Geddon with your bare hands!" Nega laughed maniacally.

"Not really." Armand murmured silently. "But I don't have much of a choice."

"Oh, this is just too easy." Nega chuckled.

Once again, the elderly scientist commanded the Nega-Geddon to strike with its rotating blades. It was fortunate that Armand was exceptionally fit as he was forced to duck and dive away from the blades. When he found the opportunity, he slipped past the blades and grasped one of the arms. He learned from Rector that using the weight of an opponent can easily turn the tide of battle. Gathering what energy he could, Armand forced the arm over his shoulder and, miraculously, flipped the Nega-Geddon overhead. Upon landing, one of the machine's claws stabbed through its chest, leaving a gaping hole in its place.

"So, it can be pierced by only itself." Armand noted.

"Stupid machine!" Nega roared. "You insufferable piece of scrap!!"

"Hey, watch it, Nega." Armand laughed. "Machines have feelings, too."

"I've had enough of this!" Nega shouted furiously. The Nega-Geddon took off into the air, forming a cloud of dust in its wake. "I have grown tired of this endless squabble! The self-destruction sequence will eliminate everything within a fifty mile radius!"

"But' you'll kill yourself!" Armand exclaimed.

"Die, Armand the Tiger!!" Nega screamed, ignoring the feline.

The deranged scientist activated a secret sequence to the Nega-Geddon, which swiftly curled its limbs back into its body. The purple armor slowly simmered into a boiling red color as the heat of the atmosphere began to intensify. Armand was fruitlessly trying to activate his watch again, but knew it was useless when the device automatically recharged. The Nega-Geddon's armor reached a metallic-gold color and seemed ready to blow. Then all of a sudden, the heat died down and the machine returned to its standard violet shade. Eggman Nega seemed just as confused as Armand as the machine dropped to the ground with a heavy thud.

"What is the matter with this piece of junk?" Nega snarled.

Out of nowhere, a sky-blue claw ripped through the controls and expended to reveal Emil hiding behind the wires.

"This is what you would call an inside job." Emily smirked.

Nega raised his fist to punch the cheetah, but Armand appeared overhead and kicked the doctor in the forehead. As the round doctor tumbled into the grass, Armand began ripping away at the machine until there was a hole large enough for Emily to slip through. Eggman Nega decided it was the best time to slip away while the feline duo was distracted.

"Are you ok?" Armand asked.

"I've had better days." Emily moaned. "Hey, whatever happened to...?"

Suddenly a flash of light erupted out of the corner of their eyes. The felines dropped the ground and prepared themselves for battle when they were greeted by the most unusual sight. Silver, Sonic, and Shadow were watching Eggman Nega carefully as Metal Sonic cuffed his arms from behind. And if that wasn't unusual enough, a spinning white vortex could be seen in the background.

"This time, let's get him a parole officer that can do his job." Shadow glared.

"Hey, how was I supposed he built a paralysis gun out of wood and wires?!" Metal snapped.

"Hey, hey, calm down, guys." Silver said easily. "The point is; we've got Nega. That's all the matters."

"Uh...excuse me?" Armand spoke.

The reactions between them were equally scary and comical. Silver jumped frightfully into the air and bumped heads with Nega, who fell backwards onto Metal. At the same time, Shadow pulled a pistol and held Emily at gunpoint while Sonic somehow called laser daggers from a device on his wrist and held them to Armand's throat.

"All right, who are you?" Sonic questioned.

"What are you talking about?" Emily asked confused. "We fought on Eastern Island together during Hybrid's tournament, remember?"

"Uh..." Sonic hummed confused.

"You're talking to the wrong guy, Emily." Silver said, rubbing his forehead. "This Sonic is a clone of the original made two hundred years in the future."

"Two hundred years?" Armand repeated. "Wait a minute; you're all from the future, aren't you?"

"Yes, and I believe you are, too." Shadow said monotonously, finally removing his gun. "I think there is some record of your father in the achieves." He turned to Metal. "What are the records on Tobias the Tiger?"

"Tobias was recorded as the son of Leona and Travis the Tigers." Metal informed. "From historical records, we've learned that he had one genetic son and disappeared for unknown reasons."

"In other words, this guy is from the future like us." Sonic summarized, removing his blades.

"I've heard about this watch from Nega's reports." Shadow said, staring at the device. "Anyone from the past could use that object to take over the world in a matter of weeks. It's not safe in the present timeline."

"What are you going to do with it?" Armand questioned fearfully.

"We plan to take it back to the future." Shadow commanded firmly. "And you're coming with us."

"But I can't!" Armand exclaimed. "What about my friends, my home?!" He lowered his voice to a whisper. "What about Emily?"

"Armand..." Emily spoke softly, taking his hand. "This is your chance to go back home to where you belong. You could learn about everything: you past, your family, and even what your father did. You can't pass up an opportunity like this."

"But what about you?" Armand asked desperately.

"Emily Leot." Metal said suddenly, causing the felines to jump. "Records show that she has a close relation with Lunar Leot, but is currently unknown. History states that her only known activity is participating in the first Ultimate World Tournament, but was defeated in the final eight. Afterwards, she disappeared forever."

"In other words, we have a loophole." Silver smirked.

"Precisely." Metal nodded.

"So, Emily can come with me?" Armand asked hopefully.

"Only if you promise to surrender the watch to government control." Shadow debated.

"That's all you really care about, isn't it?" Armand questioned; the other nodded. "Eh, fair enough."

"Well, Armand..." Emily smiled as the tiger surrendered his watch. "It looks like we'll have a bright future together."

"Please, no more pun." Armand groaned.

He found himself lying on the ground a moment later. Silver smiled nervously while Sonic II was in full-blown laughter. Metal pushed their prisoner into the white vortex behind them, which was expected to be a portal in time. Emily followed Shadow through while Sonic and Silver carried the whimpering tiger behind them. This proved to be their last appearance in the world as the time vortex vanished from sight.

**

* * *

**

Time is written in sand, not stone. What will become of Eggman Nega and the two heroes? Has their actions affected the course of history? And what has become of Ix during this time? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!

**Please, read and review.**


	84. Gambling Fate

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Gemini, Corrupt © DarkspineSilver92  
Rodrigo © Kiba Sniper

Chapter Eighty-Four: Gambling Fate

The scene opens to the largest gambling center in the world: Casinopolis. While the lights and sounds attracted a new horde of suckers to lose their money, a particular group did not seem interested. Rector, along with Hybrid and Howl, were sitting outside the main office of one of the most prestigious casinos, waiting for their chance. Howl and Hybrid seemed calm and collected during the wait, but Rector, if anything, looked more irritable than usual.

"I can't believe we're here." Rector grumbled. "If that stuck-up, spoiled brat..."

"Rector, you need to remain calm." Howl said soothingly. "I know you don't like coming to your cousin for this situation, but it is necessary."

"I can't believe I have to ask money from Gemini, of all people." Rector scowled.

"Team Virtex needs money if we're expected to get by this month." Hybrid explained calmly. "Besides, I thought you and your cousin made up back on Eastern Island. I'm sure he would be happy to help."

"You don't know Gemini like I do." Rector hissed indigently. "My aunt and uncle have never shown charity to anyone, not even to their family. My dad asked his brother for a loan and he called security on him. Gemini is the same way. He's never given anything to those less fortunate."

"Well, maybe he's changed." Hybrid suggested.

At that moment, a voluptuous vixen, who was supposed to be Gemini's secretary, told them that they were allowed to see him now. Rector could only think of two reasons why his cousin hired her. Shake his head of the thoughts, Rector followed his team through the door into Gemini's office. The hedgehog himself was sitting behind his appointed desk with his feet propped on the furniture, apparently enjoying the view of the team's entrance. He waved for the vixen to leave them, who bowed outwards before shutting the door behind them.

"Well, well, well..." Gemini said amusingly. "If it isn't my cousin and his trusty team. To what do I owe the honor of this unexpected visit."

"Team Virtex is suffering from a financial crisis." Hybrid explained; Rector was suddenly interested in the wall. "We have tried advertising Team Virtex Mercenary Corporation for some time now, but the results have been...lacking. With a short supply of job listing and six people to care for, it would be very helpful if..."

"I lend you some money." Gemini interjected.

"Just as a loan." Howl stated. "We are hoping to some publicity by joining the Sonic Heroes on a few missions. But until then, we need a little money for our needs.

"That's sounds like a good cause." Gemini smirked victoriously. "Unfortunately, my family didn't make this far by being stupid. If you want the money, you'll have to get it yourself. Might I suggest taking a trip to the casino downstairs? I bet you three would have a great time at the slots."

"We're not here to gamble, Gemini!" Rector snapped. Se slamming his fist on the desk, forming a pair of dents in the wood. "Our team needs that money! We have two children and a woman with a poor education that is unable to find a job!" He calmed his nerves; his breathing was harsh and heavy. "Please, Gemini, we need your help. I can't think of anyone else to turn to."

"That's not my problem, Rector." Gemini replied coolly, turning in his chair. "You can leave now."

Shifting a glare back at his companions, the ruby hedgehog turned on his heels and stomped out of the office. After several uneventful hours, night had finally fallen over Casinopolis, but no one could ever tell the difference. The luminescent signs always filled the air, making the day seem eternal – Gemini always hated that about the city. The dark hedgehog sat restlessly in his office with a stack of papers piled high on his desk by the vixen secretary.

"Ugh, more paperwork?" Gemini groaned. "What's the point of have a secretary if they can't do the work for you?"

"This is your company, meaning it's your responsibility." The vixen huffed. "Honestly, how did you manage to keep this place up after all these years?"

"I had a good secretary." Gemini replied, earning him a bump on the head. "Yow! That's coming out of your pay!"

"Well, I'm done for the night." The vixen stated as she exited the room. "I expect that report done by tomorrow morning."

"Whatever." Gemini shrugged.

The vixen glared at the hedgehog's backside before closing the door with a snap. Gemini sighed and turned off the lights in the office, allowing the room to be filled with the pale combination of the neon signs and moon. The dark hedgehog groaned, resting his head against the polished surface of his desk. This mind was wrapped around what had occurred moments ago – Rector's words still echoed through his thoughts. They had two children to look over, a 4000 year-old woman with a remedial education, and a lack of work ethic. For some reason, he felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. Was he feeling guilty?

"That's ridiculous." Gemini muttered to himself. "What should I have to feel guilty about?"

"You turned you back on your family."

"So?" Gemini grumbled. "My family abandoned me when I was just a helpless infant. If it wasn't for Naga, I would probably still be in the orphanage without any clue of where I come from."

"But you know the truth. You know you care for them."

"I..." Gemini stammered before sighing in defeat. "I guess that is true. I might not have a high opinion on Rector, but those kids don't deserve the same fate I had to suffer through." He smiled lightly and raised his head. "Wow, I didn't think a voice in my head would help clear things up."

"Who says it's in your head?"

At that point, Gemini snapped his head up and unfortunately found himself face-to-face with Orion the Hedgehog. Something in his arm seemed to remember their last encounter. Before Gemini could have the opportunity to stand up, Orion tapped a red ring on his belt – his fur transformed to the same color. The evil counterpart thrusted out his palm and released a fireball that slammed into Gemini's chest and through the glass window behind them. With glass particles surrounding him, the hedgehog warrior dropped through fifty stories towards the ground. However, before he could hit the concrete, Orion tapped a white ring on his belt – his fur turning the same color – and waved his hand across the air. All of a sudden, the wind kicked up and shot Gemini through casino window, scattering the audience.

"Ugh..." Gemini groaned, rubbing his pulsating forehead. "That is going to leave a mark."

"And I've only just started."

Gemini jumped sideways when he found Orion standing next to him – his fur was a deep shade of crimson. The dark copy twisted his body around and slammed his fist to the ground, forming a massive crater in the floor. However, he soon discovered he had missed his target when he found his fist between _two _Geminis. The doppelgangers grinned and kicked their feet at the dark twin, who unfortunately came prepared. Quick as a flash, the malevolent spirit tapped a ring on his belt and watched as his fur turned a deep shade of grey. The Gemini twins connected with Orion's chest, only to be pushed backwards by what felt like a wall of iron. And to make matters worse, the evil counterpart held out his arm and released a series of metallic spikes from his wrist. With a short yelp, the twin Gemini fused back into a single entity just as the lethal spikes stabbed at the wall around him.

"Seriously, where is this guy getting these powers?" Gemini panted.

"You want to know my secret, do you?" Orion grinned, pressing his foot over his counterpart's chest. "I could reveal my secrets, but then I would lower my standards to equal imbecilic fools such as Eggman."

"But then you wouldn't be a quality villain." Gemini said pointedly.

"Very true." Orion nodded. "I guess I could tell you the secret."

Gemini had obviously hoped to catch his dark side off guard while he was busy explaining, but ultimately failed. When the replicating hedgehog lunged for his vile copy, Orion swiped his fist and nailed Gemini in the cheek. The force of the attack shot Gemini through a row of slot machines and landed on a roulette table – he nearly swallowed the ball. As Orion slowly approached the target, he revealed a secret ring that he kept hidden in his quills. It was a special object with a multiple of colors all twisted together. And by absorbing the ring's power, Orion's fur flashed in an assortment of colors.

"Whoa, nice light show." Gemini joked.

"I had hoped you would enjoy it." Orion sneered. He grasped Gemini's throat, who felt suddenly weak upon connection. "This is a very special ring: absorption. I started with this ring and stole the lives of a million warriors. And from them, I transferred their powers into the rings and used them for myself."

"So you're a thief?" Gemini gasped.

"In a way, yes." Orion hissed.

The evil thief renewed his grip on his counterpart's throat, advancing the process of his ring power. Gemini stretched his arm for anything he could use as a weapon, but the closest he could come to was a deck of cards. The replicating hedgehog seemed to be on his last tether for life once his body slowly started to whither along with his powers. But at the last minute, a blur of grey dashed between them and ultimately separated the connection – the weakened Gemini dropped to the ground. Orion hissed at the scar presented on his hand and looked over as Howl sheathed his sword. The vile doppelganger sighed irritably and tapped his grey ring. Wrong move. A moment later, a flash of electricity escaped from the florescent lights and culminated around Orion's metallic body. Tired and weak, Orion was left defenseless as Rector jumped in on the scene and slammed his fist into the hedgehog's face, sending him crashing into the slots.

"He was right." Hybrid chuckled. "We would have a great time in the slots."

"Are you well?" Howl asked while kneeling to Gemini.

"Do I look well to you?!" Gemini snapped in an aged voice. "What are you doing here? I thought you left hours ago."

"We weren't going to leave without our money." Rector stated coldly. "Unlike you, we have friends to care for and we weren't going to leave without it."

"But why...?"

"We're not here to save you out of charity." Hybrid proclaimed. "For saving you're life, we're going to have to charge you. And we don't come cheap."

"Such an absurd notion." Orion grunted, pushing off the mounds of silver coins. "You actually believe you stand a chance against my powers?"

"That the big idea." Howl nodded.

Orion seemed far from amused. Tapping a ring – his fur turned light-blue – the evil counterpart dashed between the team at speeds equal to Sonic. As he came around for another cycle, Rector pulled back his fist and nailed the hedgehog in the stomach with accurate precision. He was glad for using Sonic as a punching bag. While twisting in midair, Orion tapped a ring on his belt – his fur turned gold – and transformed into a leopard. The transformed clone rebounded off one of the roulette tables and pounced after Rector, only to be intercepted by Howl. The master of bushido crouched lower to the ground with one hand on his sword handle and the other held forward in perfect stance. After allowing Orion to reach a few inches closer, he struck.

"Strike of Bushido: Air Cutter!" Howl roared.

Before Orion knew what happened, Howl skipped off the ground, withdrew his swords and spiraled into a whirlwind. The hedgehog-leopard was caught in the vortex of the attack while being hurtled back and forth with multiple slashes appearing through his body. And the end of the assault, Howl landed with his sword enclosed and in its sheath with Orion falling towards the floor – his body returned to its normal form.

"You filthy mongrels!" Orion roared. He tapped a yellow ring with his fur following. "Just forfeit already!"

"Sorry, but we've never been ones to surrender." Hybrid smirked.

Hissing from frustration, the dark copy thrusted his fists forward and expelled a stream of lighting. Unfortunately, he had clearly forgotten about their last encounter. Hybrid remained still and allowed the electricity to absorb into his body. Satisfied by Orion's shocked state, the mixed hedgehog shot out his own wave of electricity. The electrical surge formed a javelin in Orion's chest and sent him crashing through the wall and into the streets. The crowd gasped and stepped backwards as the dark doppelganger emerged from the pile of rubble. Orion seemed seriously annoyed for a moment before noticing his surroundings – a wicked grin form on his face.

"Are you ready to give up yet?" Rector scowled with his team following him outside.

"Actually, it will be you who should surrender." Orion chuckled.

"And why is that?" Howl asked confused.

"Look around you." Orion smirked, flourishing his arms to the surrounding street. "Thousands of people inhabit this city. There are numerous chances for and 'accident' to happen. And it wouldn't be too hard for me to help speed up those accidents."

"You can't do that!" Hybrid exclaimed. "You're endangering the lives of millions."

"And I don't care." Orion said coolly. "Hand over the greedy rodent and I will leave in peace."

"What should we do, Rector?" Howl whispered.

But the leader of Team Virtex gave no response. In his own opinion, he was just as torn as the others were. It was true that he couldn't stand his cousin, but even he wouldn't willingly surrender is family. But there were the lives of over a million people hanging in the balance. What could he do? But before he could come to a decision, a pair of skeletal arms wrapped around Orion's neck and chest. It took only moments for them to realize that Gemini had forced himself outside and behind his dark counterpart.

"What are you...?" Orion struggled.

"Gemini, you idiot!" Rector exclaimed. "Get out of there before he kills you!"

"I have to end this..." Gemini panted heavily.

"But..."

"Rector..." Gemini murmured softly. "Though you forgave me for killing your mother, I never forgave myself. And because of that, this freak of nature was born. He is the darkness that always inhabited my heart. He is the hatred and envy that I harbored for you. It was because...I always wanted to be like you, Rector."

"But I don't understand." Rector scowled. "You have everything you want. Power, money, everything."

"But not a family that loves and cares for me." Orion replied. "That is why I was jealous of you, Rector. You had parents that risked their lives for you, a sister that loves you, and friends you can always depend on. I never had those things."

"And it's a wonder why." Orion said sarcastically.

"But for what it's worth," Gemini smiled lightly. "I always admired your strength, Rector."

Without warning, Gemini released Orion from his grip and reach into his counterpart's quills. When the dark hedgehog turned, he discovered the weakened warrior holding the rainbow ring. As Orion moved to stop him, it was too late as Gemini smashed the ring across the ground. The fragmented pieces exploded into a ray of light.

* * *

"Does it hurt down here?" Hybrid asked.

"I don't know." Gemini answered. "I can't feel a thing."

The scene had alternated to Gemini's office the day after Orion mysteriously vanished. No one knew what had happened after Gemini had smashed the ring, but he had somehow been able to recall the powers of darkness again. But afterwards, Gemini suddenly lost all feeling in his legs. Howl and Rector lifted him back into his office and set him in his chair as Hybrid began to perform various experiments. The mixed hedgehog released numerous sparks throughout Gemini's body, but found that he couldn't feel anything below his waist. After sending static through the hedgehog's ankle, Hybrid stood up with a calculative look.

"I'm not Raine or anything," Hybrid said slowly. "But I believe you are permanently paralyzed from the waist down."

"What?!" Gemini exclaimed. "How did that happen?!"

"I have a theory." Howl said. "By smashing the ring, you unintentionally absorbed Orion's essence back into your body. But the overload of power backlash and destroyed the nerves in your legs. Or, that's at least my belief."

"That's just perfect." Gemini groaned.

"I am sorry for your loss, Gemini." Rector said in a business-like manner. "But you still have other things to occupy your time. But in the meantime, I was hoping to talk to you about our fee."

"I have no intention of paying you." Gemini said shortly.

"What?!" Rector roared. "After everything we did for you?! You selfish, ungrateful..."

"You didn't let me finish." Gemini said calmly. "I won't pay for your expenses, you will." He chuckled at their confused expression. "I have recently decided to go into an investment. I have decided to become the benefactor of Team Virtex. Even now, my company is spreading word about Team Virtex and their business. You should be load with odd jobs."

"We'll be able to pay off food and mortgage!" Hybrid exclaimed happily.

"Thank you, Gemini." Rector whispered proudly.

"I owe you a lot of things, Rector." Gemini smiled. "Just consider this a down payment."

The ruby hedgehog nodded and turned to the rest of his team. With a silent command, Team Virtex left the office without a word. Now Gemini was board in his office with nothing to do. He actually considered doing his paperwork until his vixen secretary entered the room. As he walked around his desk, Gemini felt a little mischievous and gave a small tap on her backside

It's good he can't feel anything.

* * *

Meanwhile, the scene alternates to a cavernous corridor hidden in an unknown location. Illuminated by the glow of candles, Naga sat at his chair with his serpentine partner, Nagini, slithering around his legs. Kai and his newest servants, Corrupt and Rodrigo, bowed to the snake master in respect.

"What has happened to Orion?" Naga questioned.

"He did well up to the point where he let his arrogance interfere." Kai reported. "Team Virtex got in his way and Gemini found his hidden weakness. Orion was ultimately defeated in this final confrontation."

"How unfortunate." Naga said indifferently.

"What do we do now, my lord?" Corrupt asked obediently. "Shall we take over for Orion?"

"I had never intended for Orion to finish his end." Naga proclaimed. "He was no longer of value to me, so I had him properly disposed of." His eyes flashed between Rodrigo and Corrupt. "But sure make yourselves as useful as possible."

"Are we still going forward with the plan?" Rodrigo asked, shivering slightly.

"Nothing will interfere with the Solar Eclipse." Naga hissed, waving his hand to the trio. "Now leave me."

The three warriors nodded respectfully and walked out of the room, leaving Naga alone with his companion. Nagini slithered over her master's shoulder and retched something from her thing throat. It was a ring similar to the one Orion used, but entirely black. Then for one moment, the ring glowed.

"Ugh, my lord?" Orion voice echoed. "What happened? Where is Gemini?"

"As expected, you failed me, Orion." Naga glared. "I managed to save a small piece of your essence and transfer it to this ring."

"I will not fail again, my lord." Orion swore. "I promise, I will destroy Gemini next time."

"You won't be seeing Gemini again." Naga stated. "As a matter of fact, you won't be seeing much of anything."

"My lord?" Orion said confused.

"I have no need for someone who cannot do their job properly." Naga hissed. "You powers will become an asset to me in the distant future, but they present nothing of value at the current time. Hen it is necessary, I will call upon the last remains of your strength and add it to my own power."

"My lord, you can't do this!!" Orion shouted fretfully.

"I can do whatever I desire." Naga chuckled malevolently.

And before Orion could respond, Nagini stabbed her head forward and swallowed the ring once more.

**

* * *

**

Two souls come together and peace is visible. What will become of Team Virtex with the help of their new benefactor? How will Naga make use of Orion's powers? And what is to be expected on the Solar Eclipse? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!

**Please, read and review.**


	85. Hotshot Rider

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Final Fantasy © Square Enix

Chapter Eighty-Five: Hotshot Rider

The scene opens to the eastern border of Station Square, which had miraculously made a full recovery for the first time in months. It had been three weeks since the Dark Rulers had shown themselves to the world. The Heroes knew that Nazo and his servant had most likely recovered from their encounter, but they did nothing of it. Speaking of the Heroes, Shadow was reluctantly cruising around the city in his cherished car. The only down side to this trip was the fact that he was driving Amy, Cream, and Kumori all across town with a truckload of shopping bags.

"Hey, there's a new boutique that just opened yesterday!" Amy said excitedly. "We should make a quick stop there."

"A quick stop?" Shadow grumbled irritably. "It took you two hours to try on everything in the last four shops."

"Aw, you know you love me, Shadow." Kumori said cutely.

"Yes, and I'm beginning to wonder why." Shadow responded indifferently.

"Just shut up and park." Kumori glared. The Ultimate Life-Form sighed and did as he commanded, watching the trio of females step out of his ride. "Just stay here like a good boy and we'll be out in a few."

Translation: you better start ordering for takeout. The black hedgehog fell back into his seat, wondering what God thought it was funny to punish him in such a cruel manner. He stared into the clouds above and remembered the times when a villain would appear and send a wave of panic throughout the city. It was only moments before he realized when it wasn't just his imagination. Snapping his head in attention, Shadow did a backwards glance down the street and found a crowd of shoppers running frantically.

"What the?" Shadow questioned silently.

"Yahoo!!" A new voice shouted cheerfully. "Look out below!!"

The Ultimate Life-Form failed to notice until the last minute when something heavy crashed onto the hood of his car. The wheel of a large motorcycle forced a heavy dent into the hood before dropping to the road with a heavy thud. For a single moment, Shadow caught sight of the rider. He looked to be around the same age as Rai with shoulder-length silver hair wearing a black, zipped-up coat, gloves, boots, and pants. The unknown youth smirked slightly before driving off.

"Attacking a town is one thing." Shadow growled. "But touching my car! Consider yourself dead!"

By the time the females came out of the shop, Shadow had already taken off – their purchases flew out from the back. The mysterious rider soared through the streets, occasionally crashing through anything that got in his way. The silver-haired man laughed wildly as people scattered in his wake. After smashing his way through a row of market stands, he noticed the black hedgehog chasing him out of the corner of his eye. With a humorous smirk, the rider slowed his pace until Shadow was racing at his side.

"Hey, sweet ride!" A rider complimented. "But you might want to do something about the dent."

"I'm going to do something about it." Shadow scowled. "I'm gonna make you suffer for it."

"Good luck with that." The rider laughed. "It's gonna take a lot more than an old rust bucket to catch Kadaj."

"Kadaj, is it?" Shadow said darkly. "Then let me just show you what this 'rust bucket' can do."

"Bring it!" Kadaj challenged.

The rider known as Kadaj revved his cycle into the next gear and raced down the street with an echoing screech – Shadow followed close behind. It was clear that Kadaj was the better rider in terms of speed, but Shadow was one to use strategy to his advantage. The black hedgehog knew the city like the back of his and navigated Kadaj's estimated path. When the silver-haired rider wasn't looking, Shadow turned off course and disappeared behind the buildings. When Kadaj finally turned backwards, he could resist a victorious laugh.

"I knew that rust bucket couldn't keep up!" Kadaj cackled.

"You might want to check again!" The rider snapped his head forward – his eyes wide with shock as Shadow formed a roadblock with his car. The black hedgehog held out a pistol to the man. "Give up now and we can work this out!"

"Sorry!" Kadaj grinned. "I never did play well with others!"

With a heavy sigh, the Ultimate Life-Form fired a shot for Kadaj's collarbone in hopes of temporarily paralyzing him. Much to his amazement, the bullet was reflected by a flash of silver. Questions running through his mind were soon answered when Kadaj stretched out his arm. The silver-haired rider was wielding a long katana with two parallel blades. Shadow shot his pistol again, but learned Kadaj was just as fast physically as he was on his bike. The swordsman rider deflected the shot and hopped off his cycle so fast that Shadow swore he used Chaos Control. Before the black hedgehog realized what had occurred, Kadaj landed on his hood and stabbed his blade through the engine. A moment later – Kadaj vanished again – the car literally exploded and Shadow was tossed across the street. Kadaj, back on his cycle, stopped in front of the hedgehog.

"If you want to keep up with me, you're going to need a better ride." Kadaj taunted.

And with that, he rode off into the heart of the city. Shadow pounded his fist in frustration.

* * *

The scene alternates to the Sonic Heroes base hidden deep in the Evergreen Forest. After rushing back to pick up the girls, he was bombarded by a number of complaints and screeches – except from Cream. It took three trips back and forth with Chaos Control and the girls were still berating him. But Shadow didn't care anymore. His mind was still wrapped around the loss he suffered from Kadaj. Shadow had never lost so easily, not even to Nazo. Even now, as he sat on the couch, staring into the blank television screen, he remained absent-minded to the outside world.

"Shadow, are you listening?!" Kumori yelled.

"What?" Shadow asked cluelessly, breaking from his daydream.

"What is with you today?" Kumori question with a hint of concern in her voice. "I can understand that there was something going on in town, but you seem more distracted than usual. Is there something you want to talk about?"

"It's nothing that you can help with." Shadow said defeated.

"Shadow, you know me." Kumori said hurtfully. "I'll understand."

"No, I mean you won't be able to help." Shadow said with determination. "I already know the solution, but I need the help of someone different. Someone with technological capabilities."

"Tails and Wave?" Kumori asked.

"Exactly." Shadow nodded.

The Ultimate Life-Form kicked off the couch with his lover following behind and walked through the corridors through the base. They reached the workshop, which also served as a hiding spot for the Trophy Room and Emerald storage. Tails was working on Vortex Disruptor while Wave was working on the design for the new X-Tornado they had planned. They discovered that they might be able to persuade the government for the money and were talking about Fighter Mode. As the hedgehog couple walked in, Wave was the first to notice them.

"Well, if it isn't the valiant loser." Wave sniggered. "Aren't you supposed to be racing a ten year-old girl?"

"Wave..." Tails said sternly.

"It's all right, Tails." Shadow waved; the mechanical duo was surprised. "Listen, I need your help. I have no doubt that Kadaj is going to be causing trouble again. In that case, I need a way to beat him for the next round."

"You want us to repair your car?" Tails asked surprisingly.

"No..." Shadow spoke seriously. "I want you to make something better."

* * *

The scene returns to Station Square. Several hours had passed since the news of Shadow's ultimate defeat was made public and spread around the world like wildfire. However, Kadaj's name still remained a mystery. Speaking of whom, the silver-haired rider was sitting comfortably in an outdoor café, listening to the gossip of passing shoppers.

"Did you hear what happened to Shadow the Hedgehog?"

"Some kid beat him, right?"

"I heard it was a demon."

"A demon? Hah!"

"Sounds like my job is getting a whole lot easier." Kadaj smiled humorously. "Too bad that stubby rat decided to turn tail at the last minute. I was actually having fun play around with him."

The silver-haired rider reached out for the glass of water he ordered. But before the liquid touched his lips, the glass suddenly exploded in his hand – the other customers gasped in surprise. Kadaj stared at the shards in his hand before redirecting his attention to a thundering noise down the street. Treading through the pavement was smooth, polished black racing cycle with the logo of the Black Arms tattooed red on the front. As the cycle skid to a stop in front of the café, Kadaj caught sight of Shadow the Hedgehog wearing a pair of dark sunglasses.

"Now that's a sweet ride." Kadaj complimented honestly. He stepped over and inspected the cycle up-close. "Four-stroke engine, off-road compatibility, and of love the decals. This is one sweet-looking ride."

"The Black Arrow is not just for looks." Shadow proclaimed. "This is the fastest cycle on the road."

"Is that so?" Kadaj smirked deviously. "Then you wouldn't mind giving it a test run."

"I was wondering what took you so long." Shadow challenged.

In that instant, Kadaj flipped backwards and landed securely on his own cycle. At once, the silver-haired rider took off in a blur of grey, mostly expecting to lose the hedgehog in the first few seconds. But what he was no expecting was for Shadow to not only keep up, but actually pass him on the road. Kadaj was impressed. With Shadow now leading the race, the silver-haired rider followed him until the black hedgehog forced them into an abandoned highway tunnel still under repair. Kadaj instantly knew what he was up to.

"Trying to get as far away from the market, huh?" Kadaj shouted.

"This fight is between you and me!" Shadow called back. "There is no sense bringing innocent lives into play."

"Fine with me!" Kadaj grinned. "Now there's nothing to hold me back!"

And with that, the battle had begun. Shadow turned the Black Claw to the side, still moving forward, and pulled out a weapon from his quills. It looked similar to a pistol, but was made entirely silver with yellow circuits running through it. Upon pulling the trigger, the pistol released a thin version of the Chaos Spear. While still impressed, Kadaj called forth his dual-blade and reflected the energy arrows away from the steel. Kadaj shifted into the next gear and caught up with Shadow, continually knocking away the shots aimed for him. Once they were side-by-side, the silver-haired rider jumped from his seat with his dual-katana poised for an aerial assault. However, Shadow activated a secret trigger on his pistol, which transformed into a sword handle with a yellow blade of energy forming from it. The Ultimate Life-Form knocked away his adversary, who flipped in midair and landed once more on his cycle.

"Hey, you're not bad for a rat." Kadaj nodded excitedly.

"I now understand why Sonic gets upset at that word." Shadow chuckled, turning to the rider. "I'll admit, this is the first time I ever had to deal with someone while on the road."

"And you're the second best challenge I've ever had." Kadaj smirked.

"Second?" Shadow repeated.

"But this race is far from over!" Kadaj proclaimed.

The silver-haired rider pressed his cycle to the left and literally climbed against the wall. Shadow was so taken back by this defiance of natural laws that he almost missed Kadaj jumped from his seat over head. The enigmatic warrior landed on the hood of the Black Arrow and swiped his dual-blade downwards. Once breaking from his state of shock, Shadow instinctively raised his Chaos Sword and repelled Kadaj's attack. The silver-haired warrior jumped backwards after the black hedgehog took a swipe at him and landed again on his cycle, which amazingly was moving of its own free will. But Shadow was not going to give him a chance to relax. The Ultimate Life-Form increased in speed and smashed the Black Arrow sideways into Kadaj's cycle. At this close range, both warriors locked blades with each other – Shadow's sword was caught between the parallel blades.

"Geez, what are you trying to do?" Kadaj asked tiredly. "I just got my ride waxed."

"I think this is just punishment for trashing my last ride." Shadow hissed. "But the punishment isn't over yet."

"That depends on the one being punished." Kadaj smirked.

Without warning, the silver-haired rider swiped his leg up and tossed the black hedgehog into the air. Kadaj quickly followed behind – the pair of cycles began tumbling over one another. The silver-haired rider zipped through air in blur of light-blue energy. Kadaj elbowed Shadow to the face and reappeared behind to slam his knee into the hedgehog's spine before emerging to the side to slash across his arm. The rider looked to be holding the advantage until Shadow captured his wrist when he flashed in front again. The Ultimate Life-Form twisted around in midair and tossed his rival into the twisting cycles, forcing them apart. Kadaj tumbled across the pavement for a quick moment until he managed to catch his cycle and force himself back into place. Shadow nonchalantly landed safely.

"You've got to be kidding me." Kadaj panted hoarsely. "And I thought Cloud was trouble."

"So, are you ready to admit defeat?" Shadow questioned superiorly.

"You must not know me very well." Kadaj chuckled lowly. He held out his free hand, which slowly collected an aura of light-blue energy. "I never give up!"

"What the?" Shadow sputtered surprisingly, watching the aura grow.

The silver-haired warrior thrusted his palm, forging five missiles of energy. Acting fast, Shadow twisted his saber back into its pistol form and fire six precise shots. The first five eradicated the aura missiles, but the last one was aimed for the silver-haired warrior. Unfortunately, by the time it was fired, Kadaj had once again dislodged himself from his trusted cycle. The warrior himself was standing patiently in the center of the road, catching his enemy off guard. Shadow consequently pulled back the Black Arrow in an attempt to stop, but accidentally released his grip and fell backwards onto the road. As the dark cycle flew bounced overhead, Kadaj zipped forward with his dual-katana held outwards. The tactic would have work if Shadow had not picked himself up and recalled his Chaos Sword. Both warrior locked blades once more.

"You getting tired?" Kadaj questioned eagerly.

"Yeah." Shadow wheezed. "You?"

"Better believe it." Kadaj answered.

"This is getting us nowhere." Shadow chocked tiredly. "Let's end this for good."

"Fine by me." Kadaj nodded.

The dark swordsman pushed away from each other, unknowingly skidding across the pavement. Sparks of light clashed between them – neither showing signs of surrendering. However, the battle came to an unexpected end as both warriors suddenly launched off a tall cliff. It was only after did they realize they highway had run out of road and tossed them out of the city border. Shadow and Kadaj rolled in a downwards spiral against a grass hill, coming to a stop at the base. They cycles rested lifelessly close by.

"Well, didn't see that coming." Kadaj groaned, pushing himself to his knees.

"So, what now?" Shadow panted, slowly sitting up.

"I don't know about you, but I'm too tired to be tired." Kadaj proclaimed.

"Why don't we just call it a tie?" Shadow offered, holding out his hand.

"Sounds like a fair deal to me." Kadaj nodded, taking his hand.

Afterward, both riders fell backwards and watched peacefully as the clouds rolled by. After taking an hour to relax their muscles, Shadow and Kadaj returned to their cycles, which had only suffered a few minor scratches. As the silver-haired rider prepared himself to leave, Shadow suddenly placed something in his hand. The human looked into his palm and spotted a grey circular communicator with the initials 'S.H.' on the cover.

"What's this for?" Kadaj asked confused.

"You were an amazing fighter." Shadow stated. "Probably one of the few that could match me in terms of power. Our team could use a guy like you on the team. The Sonic Heroes could use all the help they can get during this time."

"I don't know." Kadaj said uncertainly. "I don't exactly have a clean record."

"The point is that I know you're willing to make up for it." Shadow said confidently. "You don't have to join directly, just think about it. And if you're ever in need of help, just give us a call."

"Like I need help." Kadaj chuckled humorously. "But I'll keep it in mind."

And with that, the silver-haired rider turned his cycle and took off with a terrible screech. Shadow, shaking his head amusingly, picked up the Black Arrow and took off in the opposite direction. As Kadaj trailed over the grassy horizon, the warrior allowed himself to smile widely with excitement and happiness. For the first time in a while, he had met someone whom he could trust and compete against. In a lot of ways, Shadow reminded him of the only other person he could consider a friend.

"And they ever think alike, too." Kadaj smirked. "I definitely know I won't be forgetting him anytime soon." Suddenly, a black feather passed through his line of vision. He grimaced in spite. "And I won't forget you, either."

From the hill overlooking the valley, Sephiroth's wing fluttered in the wind. He watched animatedly as the young rider passed by below and set off into the horizon. A moment later, he faded away into a sphere of darkness.

**

* * *

**

A new rivalry grows into an aggressive friendship. Will Kadaj accept the offer to join the heroes? Will these new devices provide an advantage against the Dark Rulers? And what interest does Sephiroth have in the rider? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!

**Please, read and review.**


	86. Visions of Destiny, Part 1

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Damien © SlashBandicoot43

South Island Invasion Saga: 1 of 3

Chapter Eighty-Six: Visions of Destiny, Part 1

The scene opens to the capital of world trade: South Island. While tourists and residents cluttered around the shops and beach as they always did, our attention turns to the dock nestled at the end of the shore. As a ferry boat was being directed safely into the ferry slip, one of the passengers was not patient enough to wait for procedures and jumped overboard. Sonic the Hedgehog landed safely on the wooden platform, catching two of the workers by surprise – they fell into the ocean. The cobalt hero took in a deep breath of air, savoring every moment.

"Ah, there's no place like home." Sonic grinned.

"Couldn't you have waited like everyone else?!" An annoyed voice called.

The true blue hedgehog only sniggered lightly and waited for the rest of his chosen team to walk off the boat. As expected, Amy was the first to leave, running into the arms of her lover and squealing happily. Next came Tails, who was forced to carry all the pink hedgehog hog's luggage – most of it was a month's worth of clothes. But the three-tailed kitsune had some encouragement for moving fast with Cream coming close behind. Knuckles and Rector casually stepped off with Marine bouncing behind them – the ruby hedgehog glared in Sonic's direction. Finally dropping off was Jet and Wave, who were whispering fast.

"How much do you think it would sell for?" Jet mumbled.

"I don't know but it would pay for more than that gold lock." Wave replied.

"Ok, whatever you stole, hand it over." Rector commanded, holding out his hand.

"What makes you think we have anything?" Jet questioned nervously.

Rector was not fooled.

"Aw, give them a break, bro!" Sonic said nonchalantly, not even concerned with his glare. "We're on South Island, the greatest place in the world! Nothing could possibly ruin this day!"

Unfortunately, he chose those words at the most improper time. As the cobalt hedgehog took his first steps on the shore, something whizzed past and knocked against Sonic's ankle, sending the hero plummeting into the sand. While the heroes rushed to assist him, Rector picked up to the object of this humiliation: a stick.

"Sonic, the hedgehog with two left feet." A cold voice laughed.

"You've got to be kidding me." Sonic groaned.

The master of speed pushed himself to his knees, shoving Knuckles out of his view. Leaning against a crooked palm tree was Kai Robotnik, Naga's most loyal and obedient servant. Unfortunately, they didn't know this part of Kai's history. The only ones that knew of Kai's loyalties were Nyrox, Xenot, and Eggman's group. But despite the lack of information, Sonic had no problem finding a reason to hate the human.

"Kai..." Sonic murmured.

"You know this kid?" Jet asked curiously.

"He was the biggest bully on the block when I was little." Sonic explained, brushing the sand out of his fur. "He always used to pick on me whenever I snuck out of the castle to skip studying." It was probably better to leave that out; judging by Rector's disapproving expression. "Everyone was always afraid to stand up against him until I finally took him down."

"You caught me by surprise with that speed." Kai stated coolly. "But I assure you, that advantage is now lost."

"Wanna try me?" Sonic challenged.

"Another time perhaps." Kai waved, turning around the tree. "For now, enjoy the little time you have left."

"What did he mean by that?" Cream asked.

"I don't know, but I don't like it." Sonic grimaced.

"Sonic! Sonic!"

The cobalt hedgehog turned sharply at the voice, only to be knocked backward into the sand – Sonic hated the beach more than ever. But on a lighter note, he was happy to find the reason for his fall was the appearance of his younger brother, Stream the Hedgehog. Sonic pulled Stream off his chest and stood up just as his mother, Queen Aleena the Hedgehog, and Stream's guardian, Damien walked up to them. And much to Sonic's happiness, his own godfather, Lucario, was there to greet them. Before he could have a chance to speak, Aleena pulled her son into a death-grip hug that could be compared to Amy's.

"Oh, Sonic, I've missed you." Aleena said softly, releasing her eldest child. "Have you been keeping the world safe?"

"We're still alive, aren't we?" Sonic laughed. He turned to Damien. "Hey, bro, how's it hanging?"

"I've had better days." Damien smirked. "And you are usually the one who ends up ruining it."

"Hello, Stream." Amy said sweetly to the child. "Do you remember me from Hybrid's tournament?"

"Yes, Ms. Amy." Stream said cutely; Amy gushed. "Mommy says you're going to be my big sister."

"Mom!!" Sonic exclaimed embarrassingly. Rector's eye twitched while Amy squealed in joy.

"You can't deny it." Aleena gleamed deviously. "It's bound to happen someday. I mean, look at your father and I."

"Not to be rude or anything." Knuckles interjected impatiently. "Hell, I don't care if I am being rude. But why exactly did you tell us to cross over ten thousand miles of water to come here?"

"What are you talking about?" Lucario asked confused. "Weren't you the ones who called us down here?"

Before any other could analyze the confusion of the situation, a sudden roar of screams emerged down the coast. Sonic had dark feeling that someone like Nazo was behind this. The cobalt hedgehog raced down the shore, picking up a huge cloud of sand that covered his friends and family. Sonic was nervous and angry. This was his homeland and the Dark Rulers had no right to invade. But as he jogged into town, his opinion slowly altered. There were screams, but they were screams of joy and excitement – something big was happening. Sonic was practically blocked off by a wall of screaming citizens when reaching the town square, which allowed the rest of his team to catch up. After nailing the blue hedgehog in the head, Knuckles and Rector forced the people out of the way to make a clear path for them to enter.

"What going on, mate?" Marine asked excitedly. "Is there a party?"

"If there is one, there won't be in a moment." Lucario said strictly. "Public festivities must be authorized by the leading government of the area. It which case, the head of government must..."

"Oh, lighten up, Lucario." Aleena smiled. "You're boring the kids to death."

"Thank you." Tails nodded appreciatively, carrying a dozy Cream with his tails. "But what's going on anyway?"

"Ok, that's enough!" A gruff voice called from within the crowd. "Get out of here before I throw you out!!"

"Wait..." Knuckles murmured. "That voice sounds familiar."

Although reluctant, the crowd slowly dispersed, allowing free access for the heroes. And the first thing they saw was a familiar red echidna with three spikes on his fist. Knuckles stammered in shock. Wrist the Echidna the other member of his species, which wasn't hard since they were so rare. And when their eyes locked on each other, a wave of relief seemed to wash over them. The two echidnas stepped closer to one another and, without warning, jabbed each other in the chin. The Heroes gasped in surprise, but the echidnas just laughed as the elder creature touched Knuckles' shoulder.

"I see you've been working on building your power." Wrist chuckled. "Excellent form, son."

"I am glad to receive your approval, father." Knuckles smiled.

"Father? Son?" Amy repeated in confusion. "Those two are related?"

"They're both echidnas, I think that would be obvious." Wave retorted; Amy pouted.

"Yo, Wrist, what's the holdup?"

Sonic's ears perked up at the sound – he had not heard it for eight months since the dual on Prison Island. The cobalt hero turned on his heels and confronted Gale the Hedgehog, King of the Pirates. He was flanked by his team, the Seven Sea Crew, who were all just as surprised by their leader. By natural instincts, Stream ducked out of his mother's arms and scampered over to Gale, who lifted his son into the air. This seemed to break the tension as all families started coming together again.

"Yo, Dad." Sonic smirked. "Where have you been? Getting into more trouble?"

"What do you expect?" Gale chuckled. "We pirates need to stay in perfect shape. Otherwise, you won't be lasting long in this world. But you already know that."

"You never were one for subtlety." Lucario shook.

Meanwhile, Thorn was busy with his own children.

"Daddy!" Amy cried childishly, hugging her father's waist and burying her face into his chest. "Daddy, I thought you were gone!"

"It's ok, my little rose petal." Thorn said soothingly. "Everything is ok."

"Hello, dad." Rector nodded sophisticatedly.

"Hey, what's with the formality?" Thorn smirked, opening his arm. "Join your family."

Even Rector could resist the offer and embraced his sister and father. When they pulled back, they found Marine smiling animatedly between them. Thorn was a bit confused, but did not question it. Meanwhile, Wave was speaking to the former Rogues animatedly, but Jet hung back, glaring at the elder hawk.

"What are you doing, Jet?" Wave questioned irritably. "Show some respect. My father is back and the last leader of the Babylon Rogues is here. You should be happy."

"Why would I be happy?" Jet grumbled dangerously.

"What's the matter, Jet?" Mech asked calmly. "I thought you would be proud to know that your father was alive."

"He is not my father!" Jet snapped furiously. "A real father wouldn't abandon their only son for seven years!"

The emerald hawk shifted his attention to his father, who looked away shamefully. That pretty much said it all. Jet sneered at the man he once respected and walked away without a second glance. Fortunately, the scene went unnoticed by the rest of the families as they were too busy catching up for all the years they were separated. One of the more highlighted moments was the reunion between Cream and Vanilla. Besides the various letters sent between them, this was the first time either of them had seen each other since Cream joined the Sonic Heroes.

"Mama, what are you doing here?" Cream asked happily. "And what are you doing with Sonic's dad?"

"Gale and I are old friends." Vanilla said, lowering her voice to a whisper. "In fact, there was a time when Sonic almost became your big brother."

"That's funny." Cream giggled. "But mama, why didn't you tell me you were a pirate? I thought you said keeping secrets were bad."

"Well, they are." Vanilla nodded apprehensively. "But this is a different case."

"How come?" Cream asked curiously.

"You see...um...uh..." Vanilla stammered nervously, looking back to Kyira. "A little help would be greatly appreciated."

"You're on your own." Kyira smirked devilishly. "Consider this payback for the belly dancing incident in India."

Vanilla groaned inwardly, trying to think of some excuse to slither her way out of her current incident. But what could you say to a semi-innocent six-year old girl with cute puppy-dog eyes? Meanwhile, Kyira walked between the families on all fours – she had yet to master the ability of bipedalism. As she watched the parents embrace their children lovingly, she felt a twinge of pain and sorrow in her heart. And she wasn't the only one. Tails stood on the sidelines, watching his friends talk to their missing relatives. The only time he had ever met with one of his relatives was when his father saved him from being corrupted by the Kyuubi, which allowed him to form a third tail.

"They're so lucky." Tails mumbled.

"They certainly are." Kyira nodded, seating herself next to the kit. "But what about you, where is your family. Judging by your...special trait." She nodded to his tails. "You're related to a member of my clan."

"My dad did say I was a half-demon." Tails stated, brushing his tails.

"Any your father would be..." Kyira began before being interrupted.

"This certainly is a surprise!" Gale celled over the others. "I really didn't expect to see everyone together again! Sonic, you've really out done yourself this time! How did you find you even find us to deliver that letter?"

"What letter?" Sonic asked confused.

"The letter you sent us." Gale said surprisingly. "You know, the one that said we would get a surprise if we can to South Island on this particular day."

"Hey, we got the same letter." Amy commented amazingly. "It chose us specifically and requested that we bring Rector and Marine along with us. We thought it might have been Lucario or the Queen."

"If you didn't send it and we didn't send it..." Lucario spoke suspiciously. "Who did?"

All of a suddenly, the wind kicked up at an unusual time, forcing the heroes to raise their arms to shield their eyes. Kyira, whose demonic aura penetrated the wind cycle watched as two mysterious creatures formed from the very air itself. When the two became whole, she couldn't resist a gasp of shock. Finally, the wind died down and the Heroes prepared themselves for anything that might come. Nyrox and Xenot stood nonchalantly near the fountain – the elder drinking an unknown substance from a cup.

"Ugh!" Nyrox exclaimed in disgust. "Still not as good as King."

"And who are you supposed to be." Knuckles questioned.

"Dad/Nyrox!" Tails and Kyira said simultaneously; the two kitsunes stared at one another.

"You two know each other?" Damien asked, referring to the younger fox.

"That's my dad." Tails exclaimed happily. "He saved me from being taken over by my grandfather, the Nine-Tailed Fox."

"My father tried to devour you!" Kyira exclaimed furiously.

"You're..." Tails said wide-eyed.

"I was hoping you two would finally meet." Nyrox chuckled, stepping closer to the group with Xenot in tow. He took Kyira's hand into hi hand. "Kyira, you haven't aged a day since we parted. You are still as beautiful as you were twenty years ago."

"Nyrox..." Kyira said, unusually soft. "Please, I must know. Is this boy really....?"

"He is." Nyrox nodded; Kyira gasped. "This is the son we thought we once lost. This is our brave and powerful Kyuta."

"Hold on a minute!" Tails screamed nervous, obviously not believing what he was hearing. "If what you say is true, then this woman, this nine-tailed demon...is my mother?"

Nyrox nodded. All the emotions the three-tailed kitsune had kept for the previous twelve years of his life had finally broken through the dam suppressing them. All his life, he dreamed about his parents, imagining them to be important people that could actually make a difference. He had no idea how accurate his dreams were. Unable to hold back anymore, Tails allowed himself to cry, which his mother swiftly reacted to. Kyira nestled his head in her arms and wrapped all nine of her tails around his small body to act as a protective barrier from the outside world. Finally, Tails could understand what it's like to be loved by a parent.

"It's all right, Kyuta." Kyira whispered softly. "Everything is all right. I promise not to let you go."

"Mama..." Tails sobbed.

The emotion was so power that even a few of the heroes couldn't resist shedding a tear.

"It's...so beautiful." Wrist chocked, blowing his nose in Knuckles' quill.

"Eww..." Knuckles groaned.

"So, I take it you're the one who arranged everything?" Gale asked Nyrox.

"My father thought it would be best if this were to happen." Xenot answered. "We have been traveling the world for many months now, looking for the remainder of our family. And when we finally found them."

"So, what's with the suit?" Sonic asked suddenly; Aleena slapped him over the head. "What'd I do?!"

"It's quite all right." Xenot said. He waited until Tails and Kyira had finished their moment and joined the rest of the group. "A few years back, I was training with my father in the ways of swordsmanship. I was a student alongside Howl and his brother, Feral."

"Oh yeah, I think he mentioned you before." Rector nodded.

"I trained relentlessly until I was one of the best in the temple." Xenot continued. Then the elders thought it was time to see if the legendary blade, Masamune, would allow any of us to wield it. Feral had left after a few years and Howl was able to hold the blade, but he refused to take it. Then I was selected. Unfortunately, the sword considered me unworthy and transformed my body into pure darkness. I was destined to die."

"But..." Kyira murmured fearfully. "You're not...right?"

"I managed to preserve our child's essence into this suit." Nyrox explained, referring to Xenot's battle suit. "As long as the suit remains intact, the darkness cannot escape."

"Is there a way to turn him back?" Vanilla asked hopefully.

"I have been dabbling in a bit of light magic." Nyrox said stonily. "But I am not entirely sure of anything. But when I find the cure, I intend to cure my child."

"And we'll help." Sonic grinned, giving his signature thumbs-up. "Don't you worry about a thing. Nothing is going to happen to my buddy's big brother."

"I'm a girl." Xenot said dully.

"NO WAY!!" Everyone screamed in shock.

After a short while, the heroes decided to continue their conversation back at the South Island Castle. While Gale recounted all his adventures to his wife, Sonic decided to give his girlfriend a tour of his childhood home. Damien was assisting Stream in escaping his tutor and Rector ended up getting lost after chasing Sonic and his sister. Knuckles and Wrist ended up in a playful rumbled and were thrown out of the castle two minutes later. Thorn, learning that Marine was the sorceress he was looking for, decided to make her his personal apprentice. That was until he learned Sonic was dating Amy and got lost with his son. Wave and Mech were getting along well, but Jet and Accel were not talking. But while Tails and Xenot began catching up twelve years of history, one question popped in their mind.

"Where are mom and dad?" Tails asked.

"Do you really want to know?" Kyira chuckled.

"Tails shivered.

* * *

Meanwhile, Nyrox and Kyira stood on the outer wall, staring out into the sky. The sun was shining brilliantly over the island, but the moon was slowly over the great ball of fire. Nyrox narrowed his eyes with anxiety.

"What is the real reason you called us here?" Kyira questioned sternly. "If you really were just looking for me and Kyuta, you wouldn't have called for everyone else to join us." She turned to her lover. "Something is about to happen isn't it?"

"Do you know what today is, Kyira?" Nyrox replied.

"The day of the Solar Eclipse." Kyira answered darkly. "The point where darkness is at its greatest."

"And I fear someone is planning to take advantage of it." Nyrox stated.

* * *

The scene alternates to the thick forest just outside the border of the town. Covered by a thick brush of plant life was a circle of masked channelers, all chanting in an unknown language. The one thing all of them had in common was they wore a necklace with a black heart crossed by red thorns – the symbol of the Heartless. The same symbol was also formed on the ground between them, overlooked the master of venoms: Naga the Snake.

"Yes..." Naga hissed, staring at the imminent eclipse. "Only a few more moments until eternal night approaches."

"We may have a problem, sir." Kai said, jumping from the trees. "Sonic the Hedgehog and his annoying friends have returned to South Island. And that's not the worst of it. Gale and Nyrox have also appeared on the island."

"Hmm...." Naga hummed pleasingly. "Nyrox, you crafty old fool. You expected to gather an army to stop me. But where you see this as a chance to stop me, I see this as an opportunity."

"What shall we do, my lord?" Kai asked.

"We continue as planned." Naga proclaimed. "On this day, I shall take back what was destined to be mine and we will resurrect the most powerful Heartless created by the purest darkness."

"Armageddon...."

**

* * *

**

A happy reunion erodes to a duel of life and death. How did Nyrox learn of Naga's intentions? Will the master of darkness succeed in his plans? And will 'Armageddon' prove to be the downfall of the world? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!

**Please, read and review.**


	87. Visions of Destiny, Part 2

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Damien © SlashBandicoot43  
Lucario © Nintendo  
Kingdom Hearts © Square Enix

South Island Invasion Saga: 2 of 3

Chapter Eighty-Seven: Visions of Destiny, Part 2

The scene returns to the castle of South Island, birth home to Sonic the Hedgehog. All the families were sitting around in the courtyard, talking animatedly between one another. Gale was telling one of his many tales about his adventures at sea and the Heroes made the perfect audience. The younger audience gasped at all the right places, the boys cheered loudly during the fights, and Amy particularly loved the moment Gale and Aleena were stranded.

"And with the magic emerald," Gale continued dramatically. "I delivered the finishing blow and crush Davy Jones' Horcrux. But the leader of the Shadow Colony was making his escape. But before he could flee, Scourge jumped out of the water and grabbed him by his leg. My brother took his Piece of Eight and pierced through the leader's heart, ending the threat of the colony."

"And then you and mommy got married back home, right?" Stream finished happily.

"That we did, Stream." Aleena smiled, holding her son close.

"That was an amazing story." Xenot commented. "I never suspected that a person like you would actually challenge a god, especially two gods."

"The God of Babylon and Davy Jones." Jet said impressively; Accel looked hurt. "You really are one of the best."

"You're life is almost as exciting as mine." Sonic grinned jokingly.

"What your tongue, child." Gale threatened playfully. "I have no trouble giving you a lashing in front of my daughter-in-law."

Sonic gave an audible whine to his father while the rest of his friends laughed at his expense. Sonic was still embarrassed about his family joking over his relationship with Amy. And the concept of marriage between them was exciting, frightening, and unusual for the cobalt hedgehog to think about – Amy had a different opinion. As Tails began to tell Sonic's life story and their many battles against Eggman, Lucario suddenly appeared in the center of the group, bowing to the queen.

"Your majesty, a monumental time has come." Lucario said eagerly.

"What's up, pops?" Damien asked.

"First off, you will refrain from calling me as such." Lucario said strictly before turning to Aleena. "Now as I was saying, a rare Solar Eclipse is about to appear over the horizon."

"I heard that Solar Eclipses have special properties." Thorn said interestingly. "They are just as rare as the sightings of the fabled Green Flash."

"Can we watch the eclipse since half the moon is gone?" Wave questioned

"Fortunately, the ARK is passing over the sun at the same moment." Lucario informed. "Now might I suggest we observe this moment at a better venue?"

The group nodded eagerly at the suggestion and quickly picked themselves up to proceed towards the hill outside the castle. They were apparently not the only ones. The hill they chose was flocked with scattered crowds all wearing special glasses used to observe the upcoming eclipse – none of them realized royalty was amongst them.

"Everyone, shield your eyes." Gale forewarned. "Looking at the eclipse without protective vision – not a pretty sight."

Fortunately, eclipse goggles were amazingly selling out fast and the Babylonians used their goggles/glasses. The moment finally arrived when the moon and the ARK had completely passed over the sun, blocking out all light completely. And just as the moon began to return to its regular position, an explosion of red energy emerged from the forest. The red energy transformed into a bolt of crimson lightning and speared directly into the sky, stopping only when coming in contact with the natural satellite. The colored lightning wrapped around both the objects, forming an unbreakable chain.

"Uh...what just happened?" Accel asked cluelessly.

"Mama, why is moon stopping?" Cream asked worried.

"I don't know." Vanilla shrugged. "Why don't we ask them?"

"Who?" Wrist questioned.

The elderly hare pointed down the hillside, where the groups were scattering and screaming frantically. A flock of humanoid shadows with piercing gold eyes and pulsating purple veins around their skulls ripped from the shadows. These shadow creatures were quickly joined by a verity of beasts that included armored knights, flying machines, and flying dragons. And upon most of them was the Heartless symbol Sonic remembered seeing on Skarga's chest. The nearest Heartless hissed and leapt for Marine, only to be knocked to one side by Gale's boot – the Heartless evaporated a moment later.

"I don't think they're in the mood for answering questions." Gale commented.

"What are those things?" Mech asked, reaching into his bag.

"Heartless..." Nyrox appeared with Kyira at his side, brandishing a golden staff. "The darkness made real. The Heartless are beings made from the greed and hunger of people's hearts and seek to devour the hearts of others."

"But how is that possible?" Wrist questioned, surprising the Heroes. "The Chaos Emeralds should prevent the Heartless from touching this world."

"That is true for the soldiers." Kyira proclaimed. "But if a stronger Heartless appears on this world, they are able to move freely without fear of the emeralds destroying them. Much like that Heartless I felt attack the city of water a few months back."

"The Heartless are able to appear because of the Solar Eclipse." Nyrox explained. "It is the only time where the light of the Chaos Emeralds are overshadowed. But the Heartless are only mindless beasts – they couldn't have planned for this....unless someone more powerful was in control."

"You are truly wise, old man." A cold voice echoed.

Reacting instantly, Xenot summoned a blade of black steel from the darkness and jumped in front of her father to reflect a shower of kunai. After the last shot was blocked, Nyrox pushed back his daughter and slammed his staff into the head of a white warrior appearing from the air. The Heroes stood ready as a horde of white creature dispersed across the field. Many of them took the shape of samurais, dragons, and some with a weapon for battle.

"Those are the monsters that hurt Damien last time!" Stream cried pointedly. "That ones with that Orion meanie!"

"But Orion was destroyed by Gemini." Rector informed. "Who could be controlling them now?"

"Maybe this will give you a hint." The Nobodies and Heartless formed a row in their ranks and bowed as Kai walked nonchalantly into the battlefield. "Nyrox, Xenot, and Sonic. Three of the four people I despise the most."

"Kai?!" Sonic exclaimed. "What are you doing with them?!"

"Isn't it obvious, spiky?" Xenot snipped, savoring Sonic's nickname. "Kai is a Nobody controlling the Heartless and the lesser Nobodies. He has no heart, which means he has no fear of the Heartless betraying him." She held her sword out defensively. "So, am I to guess that Naga is behind this whole thing?"

"Oh, Xenot, you were always to smart for me." Kai taunted. "Or was it the other way around?"

"What are you doing here, boy?" Lucario sneered.

"Why don't you ask you master?" Kai said, nodding to Nyrox. "After all, he did call you here for a reason."

All eyes were now of the disguised elder, but he did not wait long enough for the others to ask questions. The grey fox charged forward with his staff pressed outwards, aimed straight for Kai's nonexistent heart. Unfortunately, the creatures known as Berserkers and Defenders jumped in front of their master to block the shot. The titanic warriors pushed their weapons, forcing the aged master backwards. With a snap of his fingers, the blue-haired Nobody commanded a group of shadow creatures called Neoshadows to jump overhead and strike down. Nyrox twisted his staff around in midair and knocked away the Heartless shadows, but suddenly dropped to his knees while clutching his chest.

"Dad!" Tails cried.

"It's his heart!" Xenot screeched. "It's giving out much quicker than normal!"

With the sense of danger imminent in her head, Kyira discarded her sense of humanity and released a demonic roared. Kai knew it was time to stop playing. The blue-hair Nobody snapped his fingers, ordering the rest of the Heartless and Nobody army to attack at once. Instantly, Kyira jumped in front of her lover and slashed the Neoshadows with her claws, ripping away at the darkness. Xenot summoned a chain of black steel to lash through the row of Creeper Plants while Tails dived to his father's side, lifting him on his shoulder.

"Dad, are you ok?" Tails asked over the sound of battle.

"You...you must protect yourself." Nyrox coughed. "You cannot waste time worrying for my sake."

"But, dad, we need to help you." Tails stated worried.

"It is pointless, Kyuta." Nyrox wheezed. "My fate was determined ages ago."

And without warning, the elder fox dropped forward on the ground. Tails could tell that his father was still breathing, but the emotional damage rested heavy on his heart. Despite the defenses left by the females of the family, a Dancer Nobody twisted its way through the gap for the young kitsune and his father. As the feminine Nobody raised its leg for the striking blow, it caught sight of the kitsunes scarlet-red eyes – the demon was loose. Meanwhile, Aleena was carrying Stream through the battle field with Lucario jumping in every occasion to protect them. A Book Master Heartless conjured a sphere of ice to attack the hedgehogs, which was shattered by the blue jackal's Aura Sphere.

"You majesty, you can't remain here much longer!" Lucario screamed, launching another Aura Sphere. "You must return to the castle!"

"But the entrance is blocked!" Aleena shouted. "And what if the Heartless are inside?!"

"Damien will protect us!" Stream exclaimed proudly. "Where is he?!"

All of a sudden, a purple-nailed fist slammed into the jackal's face, sending him flying into a group of Fortune Tellers. Damien landed in front of the mother and child with a heavy breath, but they were far from safe. The golden hound had assumed his darker persona known as Nightshade – he stretched his claws eagerly.

"Hey, if it isn't the little rat." Nightshade hissed happily. "Oh, and the mama rodent as well. How sweet."

"Nightshade." Aleena glared. "How did you get out of Damien's mind?"

"Hello..." Nightshade rolled his eyes, raising a hand to the eclipse. "Have you forgotten? The Solar Eclipse is when darkness is at its greatest. A weak-minded imbecile like Damien couldn't trap forever." He grinned manically at the blue hedgehog cowering in his mother's arms. "Hey, kids, why don't we play a new game called slaughter the rat?!"

The demonic hound lashed his claws for the child until he felt a powerful pressure strike at his chest. The evil creature skidded backwards on his feet, cringing slightly as Lucario jumped into his line of vision. The blue jackal had three purple scratches on his cheek.

"You just don't know when to quit, old man." Nightshade growled.

"I have sworn to protect the Queen with my life." Lucario proclaimed. "And as long as I remain alive, you will never touch the Aleena or Stream!"

"Then we'll just have to do something about that." Nightshade snarled.

The battle proceeded as such. Knuckles amazed his father by summoning the Living Flames, which both echidnas used simultaneously on a fleet of Gambler Nobodies. Thorn took this opportunity to teach Marine a few magic lessons while tackling a horde of Surveillance Robots – Thorn had to put out all forest fires. Mech and Wave were actually enjoying themselves by showing off their newest inventions. Wave was showing off a self-propelling razor ring that cut through a swarm of Lunar Bandits, but Mech clearly outshined her with his nerve bomb. Accel tried to strike a conversation while helping his son but the emerald hawk jumped away into a pile of Samurais. Meanwhile, Rector, Sonic, Amy were left pushing back the majority of the army.

"Geez, how many of these guys are there?" Rector groaned, punching a Wight Knight in the face. "You would think that even an evil master mind would have a limit to the number of men he has."

"You haven't been in the hero business long, have you?" Sonic asked rhetorically.

"Shut up, blue boy!" Rector snarled, ripping an Air Soldier in two. "Or you're going to be black and blue!"

"Will you two shut up?!" Amy roared. The Heroes, Heartless, and Nobody staggered backwards in fear. "Thank you."

Meanwhile, Kai and Gale were locked in combat. Originally, Gale had pulled a pistol on the blue-haired Nobody, but Kai had deflected all shots and jammed a dagger into the shot hole. Left with no other option, Gale pulled a hidden dagger from his boot and clashed with one another. But Kai was definitely much stronger than he appeared as he not only disarmed Gale within a minute, but he also forced him onto the ground with two daggers in his shoulder.

"You're getting slower with age, hedgehog." Kai stated coldly.

"What is it that Naga wants?" Gale interrogated. "Naga knows he can't take control of South Island anymore. What is the point of attacking? This land should hold no desire for him."

"Oh, but this island is where everything will begin and end." Kai proclaimed. "Lord Naga can see what no one else can. He no longer thinks of the present or the past, but sets his ideal towards a future of darkness. And this time, it will be your blood that will set Lord Naga's goals in full motion."

"I will have no involvement in your plans." Gale glared.

"Too late, you already have." Kai stated.

Ignoring the hedgehog's confusion, Kai swiped his hand into his jacket and pulled out a cluster of knives. Gale raised his arm in protection, only to learn that it wasn't him the boy was aiming for. Instead, his target was...

"AMY!!" Gale yelled.

The rosy female turned on her heels and caught sight of the death points flying towards her. She would have used her hammer for protection, but it was currently being weighted down by a horde of Dusk Nobodies. With nothing to keep her safe, Amy closed her eyes and awaited the end to come. Much to her dismay, death had once again missed her. When she could not feel the expected demise, she opened her eyes and gasped in horror. Rector stood over Amy with his arms held outwards – the storm of knives driven into his spine. Sonic saw this and broke away from his battle with a Lance Soldier and rushed to the crimson hedgehog just in time to catch him. Thankfully, the ruby warrior was still breathing as he was set on his knees.

"Are you crazy?!" Sonic exclaimed fearfully. "You could have been killed!"

"If I hadn't done anything, Amy would have been." Rector panted.

"I...guess you have a point." Sonic said appreciatively.

"Are you going to be ok?" Amy whispered softly to her brother.

"Of course I am." Rector smiled weakly. "It's going to take a lot more than that to take down..."

But these proved to be his final words. Without a moment to spare, a venomous-green claw ripped through Rector's chest directly over his heart. The hand retracted itself through Rector's spine, allowing the ruby hedgehog to drop forward with a dull thud. Amy instantly broke down in tears over her brother's body, but Sonic was taking things much worse. Rector Rose – the man he had both feared and respected – was dead. There was only one thought running through Sonic's mind: vengeance. The cobalt hedgehog jumped to his feet and charged after the retreating claw into the forest. Kai smirked from a distance.

"And now the plan is set in motion." Kai proclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Gale grunted, pushing to his feet.

"I said you were involved in Lord Naga's plan." Ka repeated. "But I never said how."

"Wait a minute." Gale said, struck by realization. "It's not the island you're after....it's Sonic."

"Bingo." Kai smirked devilishly.

Gale quickly forgot the war around him. All the Pirate King knew was that he had to stop his son. The adult hedgehog sharply ripped the knives from his shoulder and tossed them onto the ground before chasing after Sonic. Kai watched amusingly as the Cobalt hedgehog charged into the trees before joining his soldiers in battle.

* * *

The scene alternates to the deep woods across the edge of the island. Sonic was following the slithering hand as it curved around the trees and shrubs. The forest became so thick that a clear path was no longer available to the hedgehog. But none of this mattered to him. Sonic was driven beyond the edge of furious and wanted to murder the owner of the hand. His hatred forced him to unintentionally convert into his Werehog form, ripping the trees from their roots and forging a path.

"_I always thought Rector would survive anything._" Sonic thought, shredding a shrub with his claw. "_He was the only one Amy could always count on to be there. And now he's gone. I swear, someone is going to die today!!_"

Sonic the Werehog roared furiously – the force of his lungs blew away the remains of his path. Imagine his surprise when he arrived at the forest plain and spotted the Heartless symbol printed on the smooth grass. This was the symbol of hatred that allowed Sonic to release all his anger and frustrations. The ferocious werehog slammed his fists into the ground, forming a row of craters in his wake. This proved to be a bad idea as the ground suddenly caved beneath him, sending the werehog tumbling into a twenty foot crater. And the situation was only made worse as a colony of massive serpents nested and hissed from all sides. Even in this form, Sonic was still deathly afraid of snakes.

"Showing fear towards my brethren?" The Werehog looked to the side and nearly passed out at the appearance of Naga the Snake. "As you should be. I had hoped the memory of that day had taken full effect."

"Who are you?" Sonic growled feebly.

"I am Naga the Snake." Naga hissed pleasingly. "But I'm sure you've heard of me."

"You kidnapped me when I was born." Sonic nodded. "You performed some messed up experiment and my dad and uncle killed you. Or at least, I thought they did."

"Oh, they kill me – that much is certain." Naga nodded, walking around the werehog. "But I was gracefully resurrected by the power of darkness. All to be given a chance to share my story with the world."

"What story?" Sonic asked.

"Haven't you ever wondered how you received your gift?" Naga grinned. "About how you obtained a power that neither of your parents possess. But after fifteen years of waiting, I think it's time you knew. It was I who gave you the power that made you a legend."

"What are you talking about?" Sonic asked interestingly.

"You never knew what experiment I had performed." Naga hissed. "But our story begins five years before I met you mother. After I was banished by Master Xehanort, I arrived back on Earth. And the first place I stopped was Space Colony ARK."

"Shadow's home." Sonic whispered.

"Which leads me to my point." Naga continued. "I had hoped to arrive there and discover the secrets of the Ultimate Life-Form. But to my dismay, everything was destroyed. However, it wasn't a total waste. Before leaving, I discovered a treasure more valuable than gold – a remnant of Shadow's blood."

"What does that have to do with me?" Sonic questioned.

"When I had taken you, I infused your DNA with Shadow's blood sample." Naga explained. "The process should have killed you, but instead your body accepted the DNA, giving you all of Shadow's powers. It was my intention to investigate this matter further until your wretched father interfered. Fortunately, I was able to repeat the process with Kai. Being a Nobody, his physical form accepted the DNA without haste."

"Then..." Sonic said shockingly. "You're saying..."

"Shadow's blood..." Naga hissed. "The blood of the Black Arms...courses through your veins, Sonic the Hedgehog!" He grabbed Sonic by the throat, dragging him closer. "And now, it's time for me to take my gift back."

Not far away, Gale was following the trail of destruction left behind by his son.

"Man, Sonic must be real pissed." Gale murmured. "Of course, I wouldn't blame him."

Fortunately, he reached the snake pit a short while after. The Pirate King gently slid down the crushed section of Earth, glancing around suspiciously. The horde of serpents had cleared off and Sonic, in his hedgehog form, was standing in the center of the crater with the body of Naga the Snake resting at his feet. Given his son's irrational fear of snakes, it was surprising to find him in this position.

"Sonic...did you do this?" Gale asked. The cobalt hedgehog nodded as he placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "Well, I must say I'm impressed. Looks like this nightmare is finally over."

"But the nightmare has only just started." Sonic hissed.

At that moment, Gale knew something was wrong. The Pirate King jumped backwards and moved into a fighting position as his son turned slowly on his heels. Now facing one another, Gale noticed no difference in his son's appearance. That wasn't until he reached his eyes – piercing yellow with a hint of evil. Those were Naga's eyes.

"It's been a while, Gale the Hedgehog." Naga hissed in Sonic's voice.

"Naga, what have you done with my son?!" Gale yelled. "Give him back!"

"I am afraid I can't do that." Naga chuckled evilly. "You see, I have transferred my essence into Sonic's body and devoured his soul. But this of it this way: your son isn't dead."

"Why have you done this, Naga?" Gale said restrained. "Is this your way of getting back at me?"

"That was my original intention." Naga nodded. "But when I became a Heartless, I realized something: revenge wouldn't satisfy me. Nothing but pure destruction would satisfy me."

"What do you mean?" Gale asked.

"Some people destroy for money, power, or conquest..." Naga laughed. "But me...I just want to see the world burn. And it is through your son I will achieve my goal."

"Why do you need him?" Gale questioned.

"It all begins from the creation of existence." Naga said. "The Highest One, Mythril, and his brother, Orphius, were just forming the universe. While Mythril created creatures of light, his brother was secretly forming a weapon to destroy that light: the ultimate Heartless. Unfortunately, Mythril found out and sealed it away. Now only a creature that is aligned with light and darkness together can destroy the seal."

"That why you needed Sonic!" Gale exclaimed. "His Werehog form represents darkness and his Super Form represents light!"

"Precisely!" Naga screeched. "And it is with this boy that I unleashed the seal!"

Gale moved to stop Naga's plan, but it was already too late. The possessed hedgehog ripped out a knife and sliced open his right arm, splattering blood across the ground. Naga swiftly swatted down his hand, ending the ritual.

* * *

The eclipse was overshadowed by a storm of black clouds, which amazingly began to form together. Both sides of the war stopped and looked to the skies in amazement as the cloud suddenly became solid. Without warning, a tremendous foot twice the size of the island stomped into the ocean, forming a tidal wave to wash over it. It was only fortunate that Nyrox managed to use whatever power he had left to split the wave in two. But it all proved to be in vein. A giant black beast towered millions of miles over the island, breaching as far as the stratosphere. The beast had three enormous tails along with six unbelievably large feet that looked like a planet compared to the island. The rib cages was visible outside the body under the row of eight mighty wings, but its neck was so long that its face was obscured by the height.

"What is that?" Vanilla asked frightfully.

"The end." Nyrox answered mournfully.

* * *

Back to Naga and Gale.

"That beast..." Gale murmured horrifically. "It's not possible."

"Oh, but it is possible!" Naga screamed insanely. "Now witness the ultimate destruction of this world and all worlds! Surrender your life to the true god: ARMAGEDDON!!!"

Armageddon roared, literally shaking the Earth with its presence.

**

* * *

**

The fate of the world has drawn closer to an end. Will, the heroes discover a way to destroy the ultimate Heartless? Is it possible to save Sonic? Or will Naga finally obtain victory? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!

**Please, read and review.**


	88. Visions of Destiny, Part 3

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

All characters © Respective owners

South Island Invasion Saga: 3 of 3

Chapter Eighty-Eight: Visions of Destiny, Part 3

The scene returns to the war on South Island, where the ultimate end was soon to take place. With the power of the Solar Eclipse and Sonic's own influence, the Ultimate Heartless, Armageddon, was released. The colossus shadow roared in fury in frustration, shaking the world below its feet. As the Heartless screeched to their master, the Nobodies and Heroes only watched in amazement – they had never seen such a creature before. The Armageddon roared once more, this time releasing a thick cloud of smog from its skin.

"What's it doing now?" Knuckles questioned bravely.

"I thought that part would be obvious." They looked over to find Kai standing near the shore with Nightshade at his side. "The final preparations for the world's end have been completed. Lord Naga's ambitions will be realized."

"What are you going on about?" Vanilla glared.

"There's a reason he's called Armageddon." Kai stated. "Even now, it is slowly eradicating all things that give life to the planet. It is absorbing the Earth's nutrients from its claws, sucking the water through its tail, and destroying the very air through its skin. I would say your world has exactly one hour of life left."

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Jet exclaimed, thrusting out his left arm. "**Gravity Dive!!**"

Despite the premature warnings from his friends, the emerald hawk jumped through the black hole that appeared before him and shot across the shore. Kai and Nightshade were fortunate enough to avoid the shot, but a majority of their servants were obliterated in the aftershock. The green blur flew over the water and slammed into one of the Armageddon's legs, only to be thrown back onto the shore – the Ultimate Heartless didn't feel a thing. The Babylon leader struggled to return to his feet, he felt something cold press against his neck.

"You were a fool to challenge the Armageddon." Kai whispered. "Such idiocy would cost you your life."

"But touch my son..." Without notice, Accel appeared and removed the Blue-Haired Nobody from his child. "Would be an even more foolish choice. Especially when I am around."

"Do you seek to challenge me?" Kai questioned.

"It's amazing you needed to ask." Accel said coldly.

Meanwhile, Nightshade was plowing through the army of shadows and stopping before his former teacher. Lucario was putting up a valiant fight, but the malevolent hound was merciless while the blue jackal was fighting with restraints. As Lucario pressed his paws together for an Aura Sphere, Nightshade suddenly stepped forward, grabbed the jackal's head, and headbutted him. The Aura Warrior staggered backwards with a dazed expression, allowing the black hound to slash his claws across his chest. With a pained cry, Lucario dropped backwards to the ground. As Nightshade approached for the final strike, Stream the Hedgehog suddenly jumped between them.

"Stream, stay away from him!" Aleena shouted from a distance.

"Damien..." Stream said innocently, ignoring his mother. "I know you're not a bad guy. Please, stop hurting Mr. Lucario."

Nightshade looked towards the ground in deep thought. Slowly, he lowered himself to kneel to Stream's level – the young child thought he had broken through to him. His hopes were abruptly shattered once the purple-nailed claw wrapped around his tiny throat.

"So sorry..." Nightshade cackled lightly. "Better luck next time."

And with that, the dark hound kicked Stream in his chest and set him flying into the ocean.

"Stream!!" Aleena screamed.

"You..." Lucario grunted weakly as he pushed himself up. "Shouldn't have done that...Damien."

"You are a persistent old man." Nightshade snarled.

* * *

The scene returns to the snake pit within the forest. Naga, now in possession of Sonic's body, gazed joyously as the Armageddon released a thick wave of toxic smog from its skin. Gale, on the other hand, was more concerned for his own son's sake. Though Naga proclaimed that he had absorbed Sonic's soul, there was something in his mind that kept telling him the serpent was lying.

"Isn't beautiful, Gale." Naga chuckled through Sonic. "Such power was unjustly locked away. But with the help of your son, I was able to liberate him from his prison and return him to his true nature."

"You said that thing was created to destroy worlds." Gale responded, glaring. "But you forgot one small problem: you're going to be destroyed along with the rest of the planet."

"Gale, Gale, Gale...." Naga shook. "You should know me better than that. I always have a means of escape. Being a Heartless, I have the power to open a special transport called the Corridors of Darkness. It is a chain that binds all worlds together. And once Armageddon finishes with this world, I will use your son to summon him to other worlds. Until that single glorious moment when all planet have perished and only darkness will exist."

"We beat you before and we'll do it again." Gale said determined. "And before I kill you, I intend to save my son."

"You're son has gone where you can never reach him." Naga hissed. "But if it makes you feel better, I'll gladly let you join him!"

The Heartless Master took advantage of his new body and zipped behind Gale before the latter knew what happened. Naga swung his leg around to strike, but Gale had much more experience and turned to block it with his shin. However, Naga seemed to have been prepared for that pushed Gale's leg down for a backwards strike. Fortunately, Gale raised his forearm to block and hastily shoved it away. The battle went on in a similar fashion for the next eight minutes, not noticing what the Armageddon was doing to the environment. The forest was slowly wilting away, the moisture in the area was drying up, and the air was becoming more difficult to breathe. Overall, it was becoming worse than Hell. But as the battle between the hedgehogs went, Gale noticed that as he became tired, Naga became more aggressive. Then came the final outcome as Gale raised his arms to block Naga's attack, but was too weak to withstand it. The Pirate King fell backwards into the dirt and tried to sit up, but Naga's foot pressed against his chest.

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen." Naga cackled darkly. "When I imagined this day, I always thought it would be in my own body. But this just makes it even sweeter." He bended down and grasped Gale's head. "And last words, rat?"

"Sonic...." Gale groaned. "You're stronger than this. You can break free from his control."

"You think this is a fairy tale!" Naga cackled wildly. "You are just as pathetic as I remember!"

As Naga brought back his fist for the decisive blow, he was suddenly knocked over head and slammed into the dirt wall. Gale watched amazingly as the Heartless serpent forced himself back up and turned to his rescuer. Imagine his surprise when Naga's original body gained a will of its own and stood against its former owner. But as Gale looked closer, he noticed something different about him. His eyes – emerald green with a flare of confidence that was exactly like...

"Sonic?" Gale asked amazingly.

"Yo, dad, what's up?" Sonic grinned; it was frightening to see Naga smile.

"That's impossible." Naga hissed angrily. "How could you still be alive?! I stole your body! I absorbed your soul! So how do you once again deny me the satisfaction of your death?!"

"I guess I could tell you a little." Sonic smirked. "When you tried to take over, a part of me said to get out of there right away. I don't know how I did it, but I managed to leave my own body just as you took over."

"So how did you get in his body?" Gale asked.

"That's the weirdest thing." Sonic said curiously. "I was watching you get your tail handed to you and I knew I needed to help somehow. But I couldn't help unless I had a body of my own. That's when I remember that slither face left his original body unoccupied. So I decided to take it out for a spin."

"You may possess my old body, but I still have your strength!" Naga exclaimed.

Without warning, the Heartless leader raced forward curled into his ball form for a devastating strike. But to everyone's surprise, Sonic used his new body and extended his arms to an unbelievable length. The serpentine arms slithered around the blue sphere and constricted the evil possessor, forcing him out of his ball form. Naga struggled to break free as Sonic retracted his limbs, but his old body was proven to be the stronger of the two. Sonic finally pulled back his old form until they were face-to-face.

"That also means I have your strength, too." Sonic smiled. "And if that's true, I think I'll take my handsome body back."

Gale thought he should look away, but something about the ritual seemed to intrigue him. As Sonic opened his serpentine mouth, his hands forced open the mouth of his old body. All of a sudden, a sapphire serpent jumped from the Sonic's throat and into his former body – Gale resisted the urge to vomit. Sonic's body seemed to twitch and shiver at the presence of the intruder before shooting a white serpent back into Naga's body. The two warriors released each other. As the body of Naga stagger backwards in fright, Gale happily noticed that his eyes were piercing yellow – Naga was back.

"This can't be happening." Naga shivered. "This was supposed to be my victory!"

"You never seem to learn, do you?" Sonic said seriously, clutching a blue sphere in his hand. "Naga, no matter how many times you try, the bond between my family will always be stronger than your darkness."

"This isn't over, hedgehog." Naga declared.

"Oh, yes it is." Sonic stated. "**Sonic Wind!!**"

Before the Heartless serpent had a chance to move, the cobalt hedgehog was already standing in front of him with his palm pressed forward. The Sonic Wind made contact with its target, ripping away through Naga's chest and exploding in a typhoon of blue winds through his back. When the attack came to an end, Naga's body twitched for a few minor moments before falling backwards without a trace of life left in him. The impossible had been accomplished – Naga was dead. With a smile on his face, Sonic allowed his aching body to drop and was thankfully captured by his father.

"Sonic, you did great." Gale said proudly.

"Thanks, dad." Sonic moaned, attempting to sit up. "But we're not done yet. We still need to take out Armageddon and the Heartless. And to do that, we need to break that Solar Eclipse."

"But that thing is a monster made by a God." Gale said worried. "Even the Super Form and the Master Emerald are not strong enough to take it on."

"Don't you remember that when you faced the God of Babylon?" Sonic panted. "You and Accel defeated it because you believed in each other and drew the strength to win. If you can do that, why can't I?"

* * *

Back at the battlefield, Amy and Wave were doing the best they could to fend off the Heartless. They were obviously attracted to the smell of Rector's deceased body and began swarming around him. However, Amy was not going to allow them near her brother and Wave was there for assistance.

"This is getting us nowhere." Wave proclaimed, throwing a heat bomb into a swarm of Bandits. "Maybe we should just give them what they want and save our own skin."

"No!" Amy shouted defiantly, smashing a nearby Bolt Tower. "My brother gave his life to protect me! I'm not gonna let these monsters go anywhere near him!"

"We're just gonna..."

However, the purple swallow was cut off as a Large Body Heartless forced her down to the ground. With Wave helpless on the ground, she was doomed as the Large Body jumped over for a body slam. But much to her amazement, a hand flew out of nowhere and jabbed the Large Body back into the flock. She looked up to her protector and nearly passed out. Rector Rose was standing, though still bleeding, with an enraged expression. Amy looked back at Wave in concern and had the same reaction as her companion.

"Rector!" The girls screamed.

"It's not nice to hit a lady." Rector said lowly.

Meanwhile, back to the fight between Lucario and Nightshade. The two hounds were caught into the sand, battling tooth and claw for survival. Nightshade had managed to catch his former master off guard with a quick jab to the forehead, leaving the blue jackal disoriented. Not wanting to miss an opportunity like this, the demonic hound slashed both claws across Lucario's chest, leaving a new addition of purple scratches. But despite all the pain and injury, the aura warrior had managed to remain standing, which really annoyed Nightshade.

"Aren't you gonna call it quits, old man?" Nightshade sneered. "You're about to drop and I barely have a scratch on me."

"That was the point." Lucario smirked.

"Say wha?" Nightshade questioned confusion.

"I have taught you many things." Lucario informed, pressing his paws together. "But the one thing I never taught you was my special ability. Besides being able to see aura, my strength grows depending on how much damage I take. And with all the beatings you gave me, I easily overpower you."

Nightshade was far from believing him. But actions speak louder than words. When the demonic hound was least expecting it, Lucario raised his paws to form an aura sphere twice his size. By the time Nightshade had realized his mistake; the blue Jackal released his powers and slammed the black hound into the Earth, shattering the ground. After the attack had done its damage, Lucario released the aura from the field. He looked into the crater he created and was pleased to learn that Damien had return to his normal state – the jackal allowed himself to drop.

"At least I did one thing right." Lucario murmured. "That's good enough."

Meanwhile, back to the fight between Kai and Accel. But in all reality, it wasn't much of a fight. Accel tried fighting back against the Blue-Haired Nobody with his feathered fan, which was unfortunately shredded after the first two minutes. And every time he tried to attack, Kai would disappeared and reappear in a matter of seconds, creating another wound on the hawk. And as the battle raged on, Jet was forced to watch his father take a merciless beating. He may have hated the man, but he was the only family he had left. Accel weakly tried to raise his arm, but failed and was kicked to the beak by Kai's foot, forcing him close to his son. Jet forget all his anger and instantly kneeled to his father, assisting him in sitting up.

"Dad, you've gotta stop." Jet warned. "He's gonna kill ya?"

"Not until I make a point." Accel panted.

"What point?!" Jet exclaimed. "That you have a death wish?!"

"That I still care about you, son." Accel said shamefully. "I know I haven't been the best father. I didn't teach you how to ride Extreme Gear, I was always away when I made a promise, and I left you alone when you were only seven." Jet looked away in equal sadness. "But that doesn't mean I never cherished you. I left you because I thought you were old enough to take care of yourself, just as my father did. But then I remembered why I hated my father so much – I ended up becoming him."

"Dad..." Jet murmured.

"I know I can't ask you to forgive me." Accel stated. "I wouldn't expect it."

"If I had a heart," Kai interjected. "I would be pretending that I cared. But I don't and you have sealed your fate."

The Blue-Haired Nobody dashed forward with his dagger held tightly in his fist and stopped close to the hawks. As Kai brought back his hand, Accel was caught by surprise when Jet suddenly jumped between them. All anger that surged through the emerald hawk was now directed to the human – he was not letting Kai near his father. Kai swung around for the final deliverance. But his hand stopped only centimeters from the hawk's heart and Jet knew why. And black-steeled blade had pierced through Kai's back and burst through where his heart should have been. Kai looked down for a moment and, painfully, looked back at his undoing. Xenot stood silently, releasing the grip of her blade.

"Damn...you." Kai muttered.

The Blue-Haired Nobody faded into a cloud of darkness.

"Are you two all right?" Xenot asked.

"Yeah..." Jet said happily, falling back next to is father. "Never been better."

Most of the minor threats had been disposed of, but one major situation still remained. Those who were closest to the shore slowly began to realize that the water was getting lower with every minute. Armageddon roared once more, shaking the planet with its powers. No matter what happened, the heroes' powers were ineffective against it. It seemed that the world had truly met its end. But just as the Ultimate Heartless raised its foot to crush the island, a tendril of water lashed over its back and caught the foot, stopping it in its place. The same occurrence happened with the remaining five feet and its three tails. When the Armageddon struggled to break free, a dragon head of water jumped up and clenched its teeth through its throat. But when the Heroes were most amazed by was the familiarity of the head.

"Is that Chaos?" Knuckles asked surprisingly.

"But that can't be Chaos." Thorn proclaimed, equally astounded. "How would he know where to find us?"

"Look in there, mates?!" Marine shouted.

The heroes followed Marine's vision into the forehead of the mighty beast, where they found a small figure floating in the water. And just imagine how amazed they were when they learned it was Stream who created the beast.

"Is that Stream?" Cream asked. "What's he doing in there?"

"I don't know, but I have never been more proud!" Aleena squealed excitedly.

* * *

The scene alternates to within the depths of the forest. As Gale was carrying his son through the trees on his shoulder, both cobalt hedgehogs had seen what had occurred from a distance.

"See, dad." Sonic grinned. "I told you they would fight back."

"I'm sorry, I ever doubted you, son."

"_Sonic the Hedgehog..._" An eerie voice called from within Sonic's mind. "_The time has come to awaken your power..._"

"_Who are you?_" Sonic responded.

"_I am Mythril, The Highest One._" Mythril answered. "_It was my fault for not stopping my brother from creating that monstrosity in the first place. But to counteract it, I created a power that would ultimately destroy it in the right hands._"

"_What does this have to do with me?_" Sonic asked.

"_You are an unusual entity._" Mythril said. "_As your creator, I was supposed to know your destiny. But you have defied my own predication; you have defied your own fate. You have taken destiny into your own hands. That only proves that you are worthy of possessing the Light of Miracles. Protect the world with your power...Sonic the Hedgehog._"

And the connection broke between them – Sonic was utterly bewildered. Did he just speak to an actual god? Before the cobalt hedgehog could contemplate this, he was suddenly forced into his Super Form, causing Gale to jump back in shock. But it didn't end there. Sonic could feel a power coursing through him that even five Super Forms couldn't compare. As his powers grew, so did his quills until they were formed into a tangled mess and reached to the bottom of his back. When the process had ended, Sonic could easily pass of as a golden version of Nazo's Perfect Form.

"Sonic...is that you?" Gale asked slowly.

"Who else would it be, pops?" Sonic grinned.

"Well, I don't know what happened." Gale scratched his head. "But once this is over, we need to talk about getting a haircut."

"I think I should leave before you make any more corny jokes." Sonic laughed.

And with that, the golden hero thrusted into the sky. This was unlike anything Sonic could compare to the Super Form. It was beyond the Super Form – it was a Mega Form. The empowered heroes flashed across the forest, creating a hurricane of wind in his wake and made a beeline towards the Armageddon. As he made his approach, Stream released his bind over the Ultimate Heartless and allowed his brother to connect with the colossus. The whole island gasped in surprise when Sonic punched the Armageddon and sent it sliding backwards for several miles.

"Is that Sonic?" Tails asked amazed.

"That has to be." Amy said excitedly. "Only my Sonic could find a way to be that ugly monster."

"I think I actually afraid of him." Rector chuckled.

"Yo, Stream!" Sonic called to his brother. But when the monster turned its head, he noticed that Stream was fast asleep. "I've heard of sleepwalking, but sleep fighting? There something new every day."

The Chaos head snorted. Knowing it was given a powerful threat, the Armageddon flapped its eight massive wings to create a multitude of tornadoes in the air. Sonic effortlessly counteracted this forming a barrier made from over a million Sonic Winds in midair and defended against the tornado flock. With its first attempt failed, the Armageddon raised itself on its hind legs and slammed the other four to create a tsunami the size of China. Fortunately, Stream pushed himself into the wave and absorbed it to expand up the dragon's size. Slowly, the Armageddon backed away – it feet created a deafening thud.

"For the Ultimate Heartless, it doesn't do very much." Mech commented.

"Orphius only took in account for its size." Nyrox stated weakly. "With beast like that, it would be impossible to even scratch the surface of it's skin. That thing is entirely defenseless."

"Orphius wasn't very smart." Kyira sniggered.

"This is getting boring." Sonic said, gliding next to his brother. "What do you say we end this, bro?"

The water dragon roared in response. Stream dived head first into the water and vanished from sight. The Armageddon waved its unseen face in search for the enemy, but that proved to be its final mistake. Without warning, a geyser of water exploded below its stomach and sent the Ultimate Heartless flying into the air. This was Sonic's once shot. And he flashed through the sky; he compressed a sphere of blue wind into his hand while aimed for its stomach. But before releasing the power, the wind turned gold with a white swirl mixed in the center. Mega Sonic reached his designated target and slammed the sphere directly inside.

"**Shining Miracles!!!!**" Sonic screamed.

The compressed wind exploded and shot the Armageddon out of the atmosphere and into the depths of space. And to add insult to injury, the Armageddon was flung between the ARK and the remainder of the moon, shattering the chain that bound them. With nothing left to block its path, the Armageddon disappeared into the intense heat of the sun, never to be seen again. And with the return of the sun, the Heartless were powerless to remain on the world and vanished before they were ultimately destroyed. Without their leaders and comrades, the Nobodies followed shortly. The whole island was deafened by the cheers of celebration. The battle was over – the light had won. Nyrox was especially happy as he embraced his lover with his children standing at his side. Unfortunately, he breathing became heavier with each passing moment.

"_Alaster Nyrox..._" Mythril echoed once more. "_When I had chosen you to change the fate of the world, I knew I had made the right choice. You have prepared for this moment for the last twenty-three years. You have suffered many hardships and now it is time for you to rest in peace. Before you and I fall into eternal slumber, I have one final gift._"

"Xenot..." Nyrox whispered suddenly. "Please, remove you helmet."

"My what?!" Xenot exclaimed.

"Your helmet, please?" Nyrox repeated.

It was obvious that she was hesitant. The suit was the only thing keeping her bound to this world. But she knew her father was dying and needed to fulfill this last wish. Tails, Kyira, and Nyrox watched anxiously as the black-suited warrior unlatched her helmet and slowly lifted it from her shoulders. Instead of pure darkness, they saw a beautiful light-orange vixen with innocent blue eyes. When she noticed that she wasn't fade, Xenot could resist a gasp.

"My body..." Xenot stammered. "It's still here....father....did you do this?"

"I wish I could say so, but I can't." Nyrox shook, looking around at his family. "But that doesn't matter. All that matters is that I was able to see my family together one last time. Kyuta....you will grow to be a powerful warrior. And for my daughter, I can only offer you my best wishes. Grow strong with every moment...my darling Aura."

He died with a smile on his face.

* * *

A week had passed by and the island was slowly returning to its former self. Damien and Stream had no memory of the battle that had occurred, but Gale did show interest in using his son's power. Jet and Accel's relationship was still a little rough, but Jet learned to appreciate his father more. Thorn had done a thorough scan of Rector and made an unusual discovery. Though they were not magical, they had inherited a trace of his magical abilities through his genetics. This became the source of Amy's speed and Rector was incapable of dying except by age. Nyrox was given a special burial and was placed in the castle graveyard among the royal family. At the moment, the heroes and relatives were standing at the harbor before the Heroes, joined by Aura, had to set sail.

"Take this." Thorn said to Marine, handing her a small black book. "These are instructions for spells. I labeled them depending on their difficulty. I want you to practice everyday for at least an hour."

"I'll practice for twenty-four, mate – I mean, master." Marine saluted.

"Oh no." Rector groaned.

"What are you guys going to do?" Aura asked.

"We've all decided to stay here for a little while." Kyira answered. "With Naga finally out of the picture, we decided that we all need a well needed vacation."

"You will show up for the wedding, right?" Knuckles asked. "Rouge wants it to happen in a month and she hunt you down if you don't show up."

"We'll be there, my boy." Wrist assured, patting his son's shoulder.

"See ya later, dad." Sonic said.

"Till next time, boy." Gale smirked. "And remember: take what you can..."

"Give nothing back." Sonic finished.

With their final farewells, the Sonic Heroes boarded the ship that would take them back to their place in the mainland. But something of a darker nature was stirring within the castle walls. In the basement floor, within a small morgue, the deceased body of Naga the Snake was placed on the table for the upcoming examination. The dead serpent stared blankly at the ceiling, never knowing that a familiar character had appeared from the shadows. Kai Robotnik had somehow escaped death with Naga's faithful serpent, Nagini, and approach his former master. But, surprisingly, he reached out and ripped the skin of Naga's face to reveal...Corrupt Darkness.

"Corrupt has met his end." Kai stated. "The Armageddon was obliterated and the heroes had end your plan. It is unfortunate to say that this expedition ended in failure."

"But did it now?" Naga's voice echoed coldly. "We able to draw valuable information from this failure. The Armageddon was a useless piece shadows. I will not be so limited when I create the true Ultimate Heartless. However, there is a slight setback due to the appearance of Sonic's unexplained power boost."

"And what of your servants." Kai asked.

"I had warned them what would happen if they became useless." Naga said indifferently. "Corrupt played his part and tested the Soul Transfer Technique. There are still a few bugs to work out. Rodrigo made the perfect imitation of you and performed a successful job of making your death believable. Though they were no longer of use to me, they played their parts well – everyone thinks we are dead."

"What now, my lord?" Kai questioned.

"Now...we find me a ture vessel."

Kai remained silent and removed his jacket before slowly slipping off his shirt. Nagini rested on the examination table, watching the blue-haired Nobody with interest. There was a patch of sickly-green scales on his chest with a pair of piercing-yellow eyes.

**

* * *

**

The darkest days have yet to begin. When Will Naga and his faithful servant strike again? What new changes has this adventure brought upon the heroes? And will Mythril return again? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!

**Please, read and review.**

**

* * *

**Time to decide the subject of the next chapter:

A) Erazor

B) Ix

C) Dark Sonic

VOTE NOW!!


	89. Force of Will

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Tomo © Kiba Sniper

Chapter Eighty-Nine: Force of Will

The scene opens to the dark and dreary dimension that once served as the base of the Dark Rulers. Since their defeat at the hands of the Sonic Heroes in their dimension, they had not only lost the battle, but also their headquarters. The small remained of the Dark Rulers were gathered around Nazo's shattered throne as the God of Darkness stared through the viewing portal. It held the news report of Sonic's miraculous victory against the Armageddon. He watched carefully particularly to his new Mega Form – intrigued by his appearance and powers.

"And that was once again the exclusive scene from South Island." The report said proudly. "The world can rest easy again knowing that another evil has once again passed."

"This is sickening." Dark Sonic grumbled as Nazo dissolved the portal. "The world is sucking up to that arrogant, blue roadkill as always. If they only they knew how much damage he has caused to the planet he caused himself."

"Complaining is going to help anything." Erazor glared. "But either way, that rat is not my concern."

"You will have your chance at Jet soon, Erazor." Nazo stated. "But right now, our main concern is where Sonic had obtained this new power. His strength and appearance is relatively close to my own Perfect Form. This could be troublesome."

"What shall we do, my lord?" Mephiles questioned.

"I would say that a little experiment is in order." Nazo said conclusively. "And I know the perfect test subject."

* * *

The scene alternates to the city of water, Soleanna. For a more specific location, we arrive at Silver's most recommended outdoor café. Since only four days had passed since the Armageddon was defeated, the fraction of the Sonic Heroes that had participated in the fight was still on the island. But that didn't stop the news reports from trying to leak out as much information as possible – they would do anything for a paycheck.

"Once again, the queen of South Island has refused to release any details on the battle." A new reported stated on the television. "But we all know for sure that the world is always safe as long Sonic the Hedgehog is on the job."

But that was as much as she could get out before the television was blow to bits. The new manager of the shop, Silver's old friend, Mark, sighed disappointedly and turned back to his customers. Kumori had her face in her hands while Shadow glared loathingly at the broken set.

"Here we go again." Mark groaned. "Shadow, I know you're friends with Silver, but I'm having second thoughts about letting you in here."

"Whatever." Shadow said shortly; Mark threw in the towel – literally.

"I've lost count of how many TV's and radios you've destroyed." Kumori groaned. "You lucky G.U.N. is willing to pay for the damages at the electronic store."

"I need to know." Shadow muttered fiercely. "I need to know how Sonic did it. Where did he get that kind of power?"

"You've been asking the same question ever since the first report came out." Kumori sighed longingly. "You're so caught up with trying to beat Sonic that you keep forgetting important occasions. Yesterday was the anniversary we both met on the ARK and you totally blew me off."

"I was training." Shadow said bluntly.

"I already knew that." Kumori hissed angrily. "Listen, Maria's birthday is tomorrow. This will be the first celebration she's had with us for over fifty years and I don't want you screwing it up because of your superiority complex."

"I do not have a superiority complex." Shadow growled.

"Oh, please." Kumori rolled her eyes. "Every time Sonic does something, you always have to be better. When he created Sonic Wind, you created the Chaos Blast. When Sonic began working on a new move, you had to create one even better. And when you lost the race to Kadaj, you just had to build a better ride."

"You will remain silent." Shadow commanded.

"Face it, Shadow!" Kumori screamed; crowds were watching from a distance. "You can't handle the fact that someone might be better than you!"

The next moment, Kumori found herself on the floor, holding her cheek. Shadow was breathing heavily with his fist held outwards, looking down at his injured girlfriend. The passing shoppers had stopped to watch what was happening and Mark was unknowingly washing the same cup for a fifth time. The black hedgehogs glared back at one another until Shadow finally turned away, disappearing beyond the crowd. Close to ten minutes later, Shadow found himself wandering the streets, attracting the attention of many fans.

"_Who is she to say I have a superiority complex._" Shadow thought harshly. "_Being the Ultimate Life-Form, it's only natural that I adapt to the situation and improve. She's only a prototype. She couldn't understand my existence._"

It was difficult for Shadow to accept the facts. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized he had been missing out on a lot of things since the news report of Sonic. There was even one moment where he almost believed that Kumori may have been right about him. Unfortunately, he was unable to come to a conclusion; a loud explosion could be heard coming from the heart of the city.

"Just great." Shadow hissed angrily. "I do not need this right now."

With an audible groan, the Ultimate Life-Form turned back on his heels and dashed back into the heart of the city. When arriving back on the scene, he wasn't really surprised to find that Mark's café was entirely destroyed- good thing he got heavy insurance. An emerging from the smoke, much to Shadow's surprise, was the menacing Dark Sonic. Both black hedgehogs caught sight of each other, but Dark Sonic seemed widely disappointed.

"Shadow the Hedgehog?" Dark Sonic questioned. "What are you doing here? I was hoping of taking my chances against my weaker side."

"Sonic still hasn't returned from the island." Shadow informed, moving into position. "Which means you'll have to get through me."

"How sad." Dark said tauntingly. "And here, I was actually looking forward to a challenge." He was amused by the vain throbbing from Shadow's forehead. "But if I have to settle for second best, then I guess I'll make this quick."

"I will never be second best!" Shadow roared.

In an instant, Shadow accessed his Super Form and shot ahead to deliver a powerful punch to the face. The dark counterpart was shot backwards through two buildings and flipped in midair to catch himself as he landed on the harbor. Dark Sonic raised his arm overhead to block with his forearm as Shadow reappeared overhead with a swift drop kick. The dark counterpart pushed his enemy away and leashed a sphere of darkness to be tossed into Shadow's chest. Fortunately, the golden hedgehog increased his speed to the point where the attack phased through his body and disappeared into the air. Dark Sonic was caught off guard by this tactic, leaving him wide open for Shadow to punch in the face. The dark counterpart skidded backwards, clutching his left eye.

"I could act like Sonic and make a wisecrack about having black eye." Shadow said remedially. "But there isn't much color from you to begin with....wait, that worked out well."

"This is still nothing." Dark Sonic proclaimed. "At least Sonic proved to be a worthwhile challenge. Instead, I'm stuck handling a fifty year-old faker with a superiority complex."

"I don't have a superiority complex!" Shadow screeched.

"Such denial." Dark Sonic chuckled. "It entertains me."

There are a lot of things that pissed Shadow off these days: Touching his motorcycle, hitting on his girlfriend, and saying he has a superiority complex. And it seemed that Dark Sonic was relying on this point. Super Shadow rebounded off the ground, fracturing the concrete slightly, and jabbed his fist forward at Dark Sonic's face. But the evil counterpart effortlessly captured the fist into his hand and flipped the hedgehog overhead, stilling in contact. As Shadow landed, he tried to turn around, but Dark Sonic twisted his wrist around and forced it into his back. The golden hedgehog hissed in pain as his own limb was forced deeper into his spine, forcing him to kneel.

"You're anger clouds your thoughts." Dark Sonic stated menacingly. "I remember when the same occurrences happened with the blue rodent I once joined souls with. But Sonic learned how to direct his anger – something you do not seem to understand."

"_I hate to admit it, but he's right._" Shadow thought coolly. "_I need to stay focused._"

"What's wrong, hedgehog?" Dark Sonic tormented, pushing his arm further. "Run out of smart remarks."

"Actually, I have quite a few in mind." Shadow smirked. "For example, I could ask you how the view is."

"What vi...?"

Before the dark counterpart could finish, Shadow suddenly dropped to the ground and launched his foot directly into Dark Sonic's chin. The force of the impact no only forced him to release, but it also forced the evil counterpart to be thrusted off the ground. The dark hedgehog caught himself about a mile above the city before realizing that Shadow had already beat him up there. The golden hero clasped his hands together and slammed them overhead, rocketing the darker being back towards the ground. Unfortunately, Shadow's plan had failed as Dark Sonic landed back on the ground safely.

"Enjoying yourself?" Shadow called from above.

"This is a switch." Dark Sonic commented. "You managed to control your rage and direct it at your opponent. But even so, you cannot defeat me."

"Care to explain why." Shadow said, landing across from him.

"Because you heroes are always the same." Dark Sonic stated amusingly. "You never know when a villain is going to come around with a sadistic choice."

Before Shadow could have the time to figure out his meaning, Dark Sonic took off and sped backwards into town with Shadow following behind. The two super powered hedgehogs eventually screeched to a halt back at the starting point of the match: the destroyed café. Not wanting to know what he was up to, Shadow reeled back his hand to form a single Chaos Spear when Dark Sonic smashed his hand through the concrete. Shadow instantly lost focus in his attack when the evil counterpart ripped Kumori out from the debris.

"Kumori..." Shadow muttered.

"Now you've got a choice, Shadow the Hedgehog." Dark Sonic said deviously. "You can choose either to surrender your own life or the woman you love." He began to laugh wickedly. "Either way, someone is going to die today."

"Shadow, don't you listen to him!" Kumori screamed. "You're smart enough to find a solution!"

"You've got ten seconds, hedgehog." Dark Sonic said threateningly.

Shadow only needed five seconds to think things through. When it came down to it, Shadow realized its was his own stubbornness that brought this upon him. He already died once, so he knew what to expect. Without a moment of hesitation, Shadow willingly dropped his Super Form and Hung his head, much to Kumori's dismay.

"Ah, an excellent choice." Dark Sonic taunted, throwing out his hand. "And don't worry, you're girlfriend will be joining your soon enough."

"What?!" Shadow exclaimed.

But before the Ultimate Life-Form could do anything to prevent this, Dark Sonic released a them beam of purple energy from his palm. The beam stabbed straight through Shadow's heart and his body slowly gave in to the numbing sense of death. Before passing away completely, he could see Kumori's tearful face. Everything went black.

* * *

Within the bowels of darkness, Shadow found himself drifting alone between the plains of life and death. This is just like last time. He would wait here until someone from the council of death would arrive to determine whether he would be transported to heaven or hell. The Ultimate Life-Form had no doubts where he would end up, but the though of Kumori joining him shortly after was to horrify for words. The only thing he could do was clench his fists until he began to draw blood.

"This can't be happening." Shadow snarled. "I can't believe I fell for such an obvious trap. I should have known never to trust a villain."

"He was right about one thing." Shadow groaned, already knowing the voice. He turned around to find none other than the Grim Reaper, the being who had delivered him last time. "You heroes are always the same. You always try to see the best of a terrible situation. But when it comes down to it, a creature of evil never keeps his word."

"Like you?" Shadow glared.

"Shadow, I am offended." The Reaper said dramatically. "Here I am to send you to your proper place and this is how you greet me? I should just leave you here to wander for eternity."

"That's fine my me." Shadow scowled, gazing around the void. "I'll just find my own way to the world."

"Anubis may have been charitable, but I am not." The Reaper stated threateningly. "You already had your second chance at life. I already told you and your friend that there wouldn't be a third."

"You don't not control me, skull face." Shadow proclaimed.

"You insolent whelp!" The Reaper snarled.

With a snap of his bony fingers, the Grim Reaper summoned his legendary scythe from the void of darkness. Legends told that anyone struck down by the scythe was sentenced to the lower pits of Hell under the control of the fabled Malebolgia. As the Reaper swiped downwards for the judgment, he was shocked when Shadow grabbed the weapon by its handle. The Reaper tried to tug his weapon back, but the hedgehog refused to release.

"Unhand me, rodent!" The Reaper demanded.

"Like I said before..." Shadow seethed. "You do not control me!"

In an unexpected twist, Shadow somehow managed to regain the power of his Super Form. But the Reaper knew this was impossible. – Anyone trapped in the void was rendered powerless. But when taking as second look around, he began to notice that the void was slowly fracturing. With one final tug, Shadow snapped the scythe it two and shattered to void.

* * *

Back in the realm of reality, Kumori was sobbing at the sight of her lover's body. Dark Sonic, on the other hand, seemed to find great pleasure from this.

"Yes, witness the result of his failure." Dark Sonic cackled. "If I had known it was this easy to kill a hero, I would have kidnapped that pink rat a long time ago. It certainly is a timesaver."

"Shadow..." Kumori hissed, slowly gaining control of herself. "Was a better man than you would have ever been. And in a fair fight, he would have destroyed in two minutes flat!"

"You got some lip, rodent." Dark Sonic scowled, increasing his grip on the hedgehog. "But if you haven't already figured it out, I don't play fair."

"It's a wonder why Sonic is the better half." Kumori said sarcastically.

"Listen, you little...!" Dark Sonic snapped, raising his fist

"No, you listen!"

From out of nowhere, a hand reach out and restrained Dark Sonic's attack. The dark counterpart snapped his head backwards with a deep sense of loathing before it was exchange by a wide expression of shock. Shadow had somehow returned to the land of the living, gaining a new power upon his resurrection. His fur was golden like his Super Form, but his quills were lengthened and caught in a tangled mess that reach down his back. Shadow had surpassed the Super Form and went directly into the legendary Mega Form.

"_But that's impossible..._" Dark Sonic thought wildly. "_How could he possibly..._"

"I am only going to ask this once." Shadow said coolly. "Release Kumori at once and leave in peace."

"Over your dead body!" Dark Sonic screamed.

The evil counterpart released his grip from Kumori and jammed his fist into Shadow's face. But before he could come within a foot of the empowered hedgehog, he was blocked off by an invisible barrier tossed backwards into the air. However, Shadow's grip on his arm still remained, which resulted in the limb being ripped from the demon's body. As the evil counterpart hissed in pain, Shadow tossed the arm aside – it vanished into darkness. While trying to ignore the pain in his side, Dark Sonic held out his palm and released a storm of purple beams. But much to the demon's surprise, the beams only reflected off a unseen barrier that seemed to surround the golden hero.

"This can't be happening." Dark Sonic growled. "I am more powerful that this rat."

"Now who's the one with the Superiority Complex?" Shadow questioned. Dark Sonic jumped away in shock once the hedgehog appeared behind him. "You have this one chance to back out now. Leave while you still have your life."

"I am no such coward!" Dark Sonic exclaimed.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Shadow murmured.

After compacting all his energy, Dark Sonic released it all at once in the form of a purple beam three times larger than either of them. Mega Shadow stared unimpressively and merely held out his hand. Though as inefficient as it may have seemed, the Ultimate Life-Form was able to stop the attack entirely and slowly drain the energy into his body. After what seemed like an eternity, Dark Sonic finally exhausted all of his power and released the attack. His opponent tired and drained, it was now up to shadow to bring the final blow. The empowered clasped his palms together, clustering all the energy he had drained from his opponent into a form of light.

"I had warned you not to challenge the Ultimate Life-Form." Shadow said coldly. "**Savior shot!!!!**"

The sphere of light that had formed it Shadow's hands shattered and reformed into five thin beams of light. But when Dark Sonic had taken a closer look, he realized that they all resembled some form of serpent. The snakes of light stabbed through his wrists, ankle, and forehead to burst out the other side. The shining serpents bended around and reformed into one creature before plunging itself into the demon's back. Not a trace was left of the dark counterpart as he was slowly consumed from the inside – ending his reign of darkness forever. Kumori watched in astonishment at the miracle that had occurred before she felt a hand land on her shoulder. She turned around and smiled excitedly at Shadow, who had returned to his regular appearance.

"So, are you enjoying the show?" Shadow quipped.

"Shadow.....you idiot!" Kumori screamed, kicking the hedgehog in the shin. "Do you have any idea how scared I was?! I had thought I had lost you again! If you ever do anything like that again, I'll make you wish you were dead!"

"I get, I get." Shadow groaned. "I won't do anything stupid again. We'll just leave that to Sonic."

"Well, at least some parts of you are still intact." Kumori chuckled. "So, now that you have that power, are you going to try and improve upon it?"

"Nah, it's not worth the trouble." Shadow waved, throwing his arm around his girlfriend. "So, what are we doing for Maria's party?"

* * *

The scene alternates to the dark dimension of the Dark Ruler's domain. While Mephiles and Erazor were out completing their own missions, Nazo sat patiently on his throne for his newest report. After a long wait, Shira, Nack, and Tomo finally emerged from the corridor and bowed to their master. Nazo could easily tell from their uneasy expression that it wasn't good news.

"Well...?" Nazo questioned.

"Dark Sonic went to test Shadow like you said." Shira reported. "He was fairing well against him and nearly killed him at one point. But...."

"Shadow turned into a golden boy and ripped the guy to shreds." Nack said bluntly; Tomo slapped him over the head. "What?!"

"This does not surprise me." Nazo said calmly. "I had anticipated for Shadow to obtain the same power as Sonic. They both share the same blood, so it is only logical that they should share the same power."

"But how did he do it, my lord?" Tomo questioned interestingly. "Last time, you said Sonic only gained the power of the Light of Miracles because the Highest One granted it to him. But you also said the Highest One returned to sleep."

"Shadow called upon the Light of the Miracles through sheer force of will." Nazo answered. "He will be an even greater threat than we had originally imagined." He waved his hand in command. "I must investigate this further. Leave me."

The trio did not refuse him. As Tomo and Nack disappeared into the shadows, Shira glanced backwards one last time, her eyes filled with concern. Once he knew that Shira was no longer watching him, the God of Darkness held out his hand and summoned a sphere of shadows in his palm. There was a small groan emitting from the darkness, sounding vaguely familiar.

"My lord..." The sphere said in the voice of Dark Sonic. "Shadow has succeeded in obtaining victory. I stood no chance against him."

"Justas I had expected." Nazo stated. "You were merely there to test his strength. Now I know what to expect from the Heroes during our next encounter."

"My lord...what shall I do now?" Dark Sonic asked pleadingly. "I must prove myself."

"You will in time." Nazo assured. "In fact, I already have a plan that is perfect for your special brand of darkness. Tell me, have you ever heard of Planet Babylon?"

**

* * *

**

Light and Darkness advances to the next level. How will Shadow fair with the power of his new Mega Form? How will Nazo use this new information to his advantage? And what plan concerns the Rogues' home world? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!

**Please, read and review.**

* * *

Next Subject:

A) Ix

B) Erazor


	90. Flicker of Hope

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Chapter Ninety: Flicker of Hope

The scene opens to the headquarters of Team Virtex within Station Square. While Rector Rose was seated at his desk with a newspaper held in front of him, Shade the Echidna was seated in a smaller desk in front. The ancient female was faced with one of the more difficult tests in her life: History. Shade knew she needed to pull out her best if she wanted to become a member of Team Virtex and, thankfully, her handwriting has improved. After several minutes of silence, Shade had finally finished, allowing herself to sigh in relief. Rector tossed the newspaper over his shoulder at the exact moment Shade placed her test paper in front of him.

"I hope this will be satisfactory." Shade said.

"Hmm..." Rector hummed. "You might want to look at question five again?"

"Did I get it wrong?" Shade asked worried.

"No, it's the only one you got right." Rector answered bluntly; Shade groaned inwardly. "I don't get it Shade. We've been working on this for over a week and you haven't made any noticeable progress. What's going on?"

"I don't know." Shade said disappointedly. "Every time I try to think of something, my mind put up some barrier that prevents me from looking for the answers. I definitely know this stuff, I just can't find it."

"I can't put this off forever." Rector sighed, tossing the test paper. I need to fill the empty position for the team in two weeks. Hybrid has already narrowed down three possible candidates for the spot. Unless you bring you scores up, I can't allow you to stay here."

"I know..." Shade murmured.

"Just go study some more." Rector ordered.

The echidna warrior hung her head in defeat as she walked out of Rector's office. As she walked down the hall to her room, she began thinking over her time with Team Virtex. Knowing that she wasn't a Nocturnus, the only time she truly felt at home was with Rector, Hybrid, and the others. Sure, there were some times when they wanted to kill each other, but no family is perfect. But at the thought of family....

"_Maybe Tikal and the others will let me join the Heroes._" Shade thought hopefully. "_At least this way, I'll still be able to see Rector and the others. But...it just wouldn't be the same._"

Shade unconsciously walked into her room, surprisingly falling forward. The echidna warrior landed on her face and felt a mound of dusty particles enter her mouth and clung to her tongue. While trying to cleanse her mouth of the substance, Shade took a quick look around her room with an expression of utter bewilderment. All of her possessions were missing and the room had been replaced by a windy desert that seemed to stretch for miles.

"What the?" Shade questioned. "Marine, did you try to turn my room into a beach again!"

"You are in no such luck..."

The door behind her snapped sharply to a close, attracting the attention of the ancient echidna female. At once, the daughter of the Knuckles Tribe jumped to her feet with her hands twitching in preparation for battle. Imagine her surprise when the unknown being came into view from behind the door. The former Imperator of the Nocturnus Tribe: Pir'Oth Ix. The former mastermind seemed to have gone through some rough times after Hybrid's betrayal. His proud robe was ruthlessly torn, his quills were a complete mess, and his eyes were extremely bloodshot.

"Ix!" Shade sneered. "What do you think you are doing to approach me again?!"

"I suppose that you haven't covered manners yet." Ix said lowly. "You should always address your superiors with courtesy and respect. I believe you still have the mark from your previous act of disloyalty." He smirked as Shade hand twitched to her back, which he knew held the scar he left. "It hurts, doesn't it? The acts of pain searing at your body and slowly stealing your life."

"Shut up!" Shade snapped, summoning her Leech Blades. "You are no longer in command of me! You are powerless without the Nocturnus to do your dirty work! You're final mistake was to challenge me."

"If there is one thing that I taught you," Ix chuckled menacingly. "It's that appearances can be deceiving."

The female warrior was too enraged by Ix's appearance that she barely took the time to think. Shade dashed across the sand and lashed her signature weapons through her former master. But much to her amazement, the ancient overlord vanished from sight into a vortex of white. At the moment Shade had hoped to attack, Ix reappeared behind her and thrusted his fist into her back. The seemly feeble hit was made more severe since he had struck at Shade's greatest weak point: her scar. The daughter of the Knuckles Tribe dropped forward into the sand, hissing from the pain, but was unwilling to surrender. Shade turned herself around and twisted her legs around in hopes to knocking the former Imperator off guard. Unfortunately, Ix had once again disappeared into the white vortex and reappeared a few feet away.

"What the?" Shade questioned. "How are you doing this? You couldn't use this power with the Nocturnus."

"You're right, I cant." Ix nodded. "As I am sure you can recall, the Nocturnus Tribe has dismissed me as their leader, leaving me incapable of summoning our tribe's power."

"And they elected Black Doom as their new master." Shade said. "I suppose if you're going to choose a leader, you would select someone with enough common sense not to betray their servants."

"This left me in an unfortunate predicament." Ix continued. "After my creation had turned against me, I was left to wander this new world without any leads. And then I met...him. That man with the Eyes of Chaos."

"Eyes of Chaos." Shade repeated.

"He came to me, looking for mystic gems known as the Sol Emeralds." Ix informed. "At first, I had no idea what he was speaking of – I thought he was talking about the Chaos Emeralds. But with the strength of my superior mind, I was able to repel him and even scan a few of his memories. I discovered the secrets of the Sol Emeralds and learned many other details."

"And what does that have to do with this?" Shade questioned.

"Through his memories, I learned of many secrets about our future." Ix proclaimed. "And gaining this knowledge, I set out to recover these legendary Sol Emeralds."

"So where are they now?" Shade questioned.

The former imperator merely smiled menacingly. Ix pulled down the upper portion of his robe, flinching slightly from the movement. With the garment moved, Shade was given the sight of seven rectangular emeralds of different colors pressed into his chest. Judging by the small black hairs around the emeralds, Ix had tried to infuse them into his body through heavy surgery.

"The Sol Emeralds have given me many powers." Ix chuckled menacingly. "Though these emeralds are powerful, the Chaos Emeralds are still equal to them in terms of strength. So once I find them, I will infuse them into my body and gain the power to control all of reality!"

"Don't you see what those Emeralds are doing to you?" Shade questioned, feeling slightly concerned. "Mystical objects of that nature aren't meant to have physical attachments to living organisms. Those emeralds are killing you."

"That may be true, but it won't last." Ix declared. "Once the Chaos Emeralds are mine, I will alter the course of nature. All creatures of the universe will tremble at the mention of my name and fear me as the master of reality!"

"Please stop this, Ix." Shade pleaded.

"You have gotten in my way for far too long." Ix glared. "I shall take my final revenge on Pachacamac by killing his precious daughter."

Without warning, the former imperator took a knife from his robe and stabbed at his forearm. Shade instantly knew what he was up to and jumped ahead with her Leech Blades in hopes of stopping him. But as expected, Ix quickly used the powers of the Sol Emeralds and transported himself several yards away. The ancient overlord took the newly collected blood from his forearm and smeared it across his forehead, mutter under his breath. How Ix was going to collect the power to complete his ritual was answered when the Sol Emeralds glowed dimly. The evil echidna's furs turned a deathly shade of black with the blood moving across his forehead and down his quills. The overlord's muscles expanded to an alarming size, his teeth became like daggers, and his empty eyes were painted red. Twilight Ix had made his return.

"You can't do this, Ix." Shade said nervously. "You'll die much quicker at this rate."

"That won't be a problem." Ix grinned devilishly. "I only need to minutes to finish the job."

And once again, the empowered echidna used the Sol Emeralds to transport himself. From her days in training with the Nocturnus, Shade instinctively turned on her heels and swiped her Leech Blades behind her. Unfortunately, her weapons missed as Ix appeared on her left, grinding his fist into her cheek. The daughter of the Knuckles Tribe was tossed across the sand, smashing her way through the dunes before stopping on her back.

"_This is bad._" Shade thought. "_I've never really battled Ix with the Twilight Form. He's much stronger than I had imagined._"

"I do wonder what you have imagined me to be." The echidna female was raised off the ground by her head within Twilight Ix's grip. "You were an imaginative child at a younger age. That was one of the things I detested about you."

"How...can you...?" Shade hissed.

"My powers are beyond your imagination." Ix cackled. "This will be an example to everyone who dares to betray Pir'Oth Ix!"

The empowered echidna dropped his former apprentice, only to knock her back into the air with his foot. As the daughter of the Knuckles Tribe rocketed towards the sky, Ix suddenly appeared overhead through a white vortex. The empowered echidna clasped both together and slammed them against the back of Shade's head. The female warrior dropped towards the ground like a rock, but managed to flip in midair to land safely on her feet. Twilight Ix appeared and punch Shade in the shoulder – he disappeared before the female could strike back. The former imperator struck at her gut and performed the same tactic before she could react. Shade, who was growing frustrated, merely stood there and took the hits as Ix vanished and reappeared every once in a while. Without warning, Shade turned and struck with her Leech Blade. Ix looked down to his chest to find the female's weapon piercing his skin.

"Hmm...Not bad." Ix complimented.

"You were always so predictable." Shade retorted.

"Then you should be able to predict this." Ix said.

Before the female knew what he was planning, the empowered overlord grabbed Shade by the back of her neck. He effortlessly lifted her off the sandy ground and turned her back towards him. Gathering a large amount of energy into his free hand, Ix jammed his fist forward and struck at Shade's spine – directly over her scar. The daughter of the Knuckles Tribe was in so much pain that she could barely breath a word out of suffering.

"_The pain..._" Shade thought harshly. "_I never imagined such a feeling could exist. I wish I could just..._"

"I'll stop you right there."

Shade definitely knew that it wasn't Ix's voice that was calling out to her. She closed her eyes for a moment and when she looked back, the environment had changed dramatically. The sweepings sands were replaced by a wide range of healthy grass. Taking a quick scan of her surroundings, Shade spotted a structure that resembled the shrine of the Master Emerald on Angel Island. The only difference was that the structure appeared new with a circle of water surrounding it. The Master Emerald glimmered proudly at the top of the shrine.

"I'm back on Angel Island." Shade gasped surprisingly. "But how did I get here."

"Back then, this land was known as the Sanctuary." A new voice responded.

Shade could tell the voice was directly behind her and turned, gasping when she caught sight of her visitor. A rusty-red echidna stood before her with white tattoos on his forehead with a feathered necklace hanging around his neck. Even though she had never seen her directly, Shade knew from reports in the Nocturnus that this man was her father: Pachacamac. But unlike the previous reports of him, this man was much thinner, stronger, and considerably younger.

"Are you...Pachacamac?" Shade asked nervously.

"Please, I am your father." Pachacamac said lightly. "There is no need for formalities."

"Ok...father." Shade said uncomfortably; she was not used to referring others as family. "What am I doing here? What has happened to Ix? And why are you still alive?"

"You definitely are a curious one." Pachacamac chuckled. "But I suppose I can answer you. You see, when I first received the Kuasagan, I placed a protective barrier around Tikal's mind in case she was ever in danger. Unfortunately, you were already kidnapped by Ix when that time had occurred."

"So why am I here?" Shade questioned.

"When I battled Ix for your rescue, he managed to repel me with his strong mind." Pachacamac explained. "I was barely defeated. But before he left, I placed a seed in his mind that was set to transfer is essence to you at the first moment he came in contact with you. I was able to protect your innocence from his influences and give you independence."

"But what good will that do?" Shade questioned. "Ix has the Sol Emeralds in his control and I don't have the strength necessary to defeat him."

"You do have the strength to defeat him." Pachacamac said assuring, placing his hands on his daughter's shoulders. "You have more power than you know of. You just need someone to set you on the right path. But be warned: this will be the last time I can help you."

"Ix must be stopped." Shade said determined. "He must be killed for all the pain he caused."

"I can help you, but you are in control of your own actions." Pachacamac grimaced. "But if I give you this power, you must decide the right choice."

* * *

The scene returns to the desert, where Ix was ruthlessly drilling his fist into the echidna female's spine. His hand had already burned a hole through Shade's suit, revealing her sickly-black scar. The empowered overlord pulled back his fist for a second strike when the female in his hand suddenly reacted. The daughter of the Knuckles tribe swung her legs backwards and linked her ankles together around the overlord's shoulder. The next thing Ix knew, he was being flipped over by the weight of his arm, but managed to save himself by transported to a safe distance.

"What in the world?" Ix questioned.

"Are you surprised, Pir'Oth?" Shade said lowly. "You're not the only gifted child."

"Pir'Oth?" Ix repeated. "So, you still live with your daughter's mind, Pachacamac."

"My father's influence runs through me." Shade panted harshly. "This was the one time I was allowed to see him. And this was all your fault to begin with." She removed her gloves, revealing two small points on her knuckles. "This is the true legacy I left behind. My sister and I will live on to continue our tribe's name."

"You ridiculous little girl." Ix chuckled menacingly. "Your imagination was so disgusting that it was no wonder why I had to beat that little speck of independence out of you. And yet, after many years of torture and discipline, you still managed to defy me."

"Because I have hope, Pir'Oth." Shade hissed. "And that is something you could never destroy!"

Shade raised her head, causing Ix to stagger backwards in fright. Both of Shade's lilac eyes had been transformed to a burning orange with the pupil turned to a slit with six smaller slits surrounding it. There were only two times Shade had ever activated the Kuasagan: the first under Terro's control and the second was an accident with only partial control.

"_Pachacamac..._" Ix thought furiously. "_He never stops annoying me..._"

"Prepare yourself, Pir'Oth!" Shade exclaimed. "Today, you fall!"

"Just try me, child!" Ix snarled.

Ix used the power of the Sol Emeralds to transport himself directly in front of Shade, which proved to be a great mistake. The moment he reappeared, a large skull with serrated teeth burst from the ground and snapped its jaws over the echidna's waist. However, the former imperator transported himself to safety just a few seconds before he was taken. While Ix recovered from his near death experience, Shade knocked away the skull and reached down in the sand to retrieve the beast's spine. The daughter of the Knuckles Tribe twisted the spine around and lashed its forward like a whip, wrapping it around Ix's forearm. Unfortunately, Ix's superior strength proved to be an advantage and tugged Shade forward by the whip. Once close, the echidna overlord wrapped his arms around his former apprentice to constrict her body.

"You are certainly an energetic one." Ix compliment, increasing the pressure of his hold. "But even with your father's help, you are nothing compared to my power."

"You may be powerful, but you have made a grave mistake." Shade stated.

"Huh?" Ix questioned.

All of a sudden, Ix felt weaker than ever. The echidna's muscles slowly deflated to their regular state and his fur resumed its normal aged white. This was the moment Shade had been waiting for. Now long crushed by Ix's grip, the daughter of the Knuckles Tribe headbutted the fallen overlord and forced them to separate. Pir'Oth Ix fell back into the sand and stared back up to his opponent. Shade the Echidna was holding her Leech Blade in one hand while carrying all seven Sol Emeralds in the other.

"All this time..." Ix muttered slowly. "Even the great Pir'Oth Ix falls to the power of the Kuasagan."

"You have done a great list of evil deeds." Shade said spitefully. "You stole me from my mother's arms, forced my father to kill her, tried to demoralize me into your puppet, and tried to take away everything I love. I should kill you right now."

"Then do it." Ix challenged.

The female echidna said nothing. She raised her Leech Blade and swiftly brought it down.

* * *

The scene alternates to the reconstructed and newly fortified fortress on Prison Island. While ignoring the furious cries and angry yells of the prisoners, Hybrid walked down the hall to a solitary door at the end of the prison. Rector Rose was leaning against the wall next to the door, reading a more current newspaper until he noticed Hybrid.

"Hey, what took you so long?" Rector questioned.

"Blaze wanted to go through some tests to make sure the emeralds were real." Hybrid explained. "She is very protective of those things. It makes me wonder why she stopped guarding them in the first place."

"And it took you a week to do that?" Rector asked.

"Blaze was distracted by her arch-enemy: Gary." Hybrid chuckled. "She still hasn't caught the little rodent." He looked intently at the door. "So, how has Shade been since the incident?"

"She's doing really well." Rector said proudly, folding the paper. "Ever since Ix was defeated, her mind has been more clear these recent days – her score are steady improving. In about another week, she could be qualified to join Team Virtex."

"Yea, but I still think she made a mistake." Hybrid voiced his opinion.

Behind the door guarded by both hedgehogs was a clear, spherical cell suspended over a lake of acid. Inside the cell, a small room was made for someone that could live moderately comfortable inside a prison. All this included a feathered bed, a wardrobe, a sink, a table, and a couple of chair. Shade was seated at the table, playing a game of chess with an unlikely opponent: Pir'Oth Ix.

"Do you ever wake up at night; wonder if you made a mistake in letting me live?" Ix questioned, moving his pawn.

"Sometimes." Shade replied, move her bishop. "But there isn't a day that goes by that I don't regret it."

"And what will you do when I break free?" Ix questioned as he took his turn.

"If that day does come, I'll be ready." Shade answer, taking his knight.

"Why?" Ix sighed tiredly. "Why do you keep coming here, Shade?"

"Why do you keep asking question you already know the answers to?" Shade responded with a devious smirk.

"I get it." Ix chuckled, shaking his head. "You are still looking for that small flicker of hope. But your search will be in vein." He moved his next piece. "Did I ever tell you the story between me and Pachacamac?"

"No." Shade shook.

"Back when we were children, we were best friends." Ix proclaimed, waiting for Shade's turn. "But as we matured, our ideology took separate routes. This led to the creation of the Knuckles and Nocturnus Tribes. But even after we went to war, your father never sought to kill me. I guess he thought there was still some hope that I might change." He glanced at Shade's eyes, which were their normal lilac. "You are more like him than you realize."

"I'll accept that as a compliment." Shade said, moving her piece.

After setting the piece in its place, Shade thought it was the best time to leave. The female warrior stood up from her seat and moved towards the door to leave. But as she passed her former master, Ix grabbed her forearm.

"I saw it in that man's memory, Shade." Ix forewarned. "A war is coming that will involve all nations of the world – the Dark Siege will have control over both sides."

"I have no idea who this Dark Siege is." Shade said, pulled back her arm. "But if that day comes, we'll be there to stop it."

He took one last glance at Shade as she departed through the tunnel that connected back to the prison. As his former apprentice closed the door behind her, Pir'Oth Ix looked back to the board and sighed heavily.

The king had been captured.

**

* * *

**

Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. **Is this the last time Pir'Oth Ix has taken his vengeance? Will Shade be able to join Team Virtex? And what war will involve the Dark Siege? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	91. Last Wishes

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Chapter Ninety-One: Last Wishes

The scene opens to the wreckage of the former Dark Ruler castle within their dimension. Though they no longer had any use for it, it was still the only place they had left to remain in hiding. Nazo remained seated in his fractured throne, gazing deeply into the eternal night sky through the hole in the wall. His peaceful thoughts were soon interrupted by the appearance of a black smoke cloud at his left-hand side. Erazor Djinn reformed from the dark smog and kneeled to his superior.

"My lord, why have you summoned me?" Erazor asked.

"Things are not looking well for the Dark Rulers." Nazo stated thoughtfully. "We have had three traitors – two of which were expected. Dark Sonic was consequently destroyed, Shira lacks in terms of strength, and Tomo and Nack are just useless to our cause. The only ones I can truly depend upon are you and Mephiles."

"My lord?" Erazor said confused.

"I have one last mission for you Erazor." Nazo stated seriously. "Your goal is now currently aligned with mine." Erazor tilted his head, obviously thinking of his meaning. "I have been watching Jet during this previous year. From the beginning, he seemed like an incompetent fool. But he has slowly grown physically and mentally. Jet has become a strong leader and an even stronger warrior. Defeating him would cripple the Heroes just enough to turn the tables."

"And what shall I do after he is defeated?" Erazor asked.

"That is for you to decide." Nazo said. "From this day forward, the Dark Rulers no longer exist. You are free to go, Erazor."

"M-my lord..." Erazor stammered gratefully. "Thank you."

"Try not to screw up." Nazo threatened.

* * *

The scene alternates to the wide open desert just outside Sand Oasis within the Arabian Nights. Residents and merchants were exchanging goods within the bazaar, unaware of what was occurring outside their peaceful home. A few moments of silence passed before one of the dunes exploded – Jet and King Shahryar were tossed into the air and thrown back into the sand. As the two warriors picked themselves up, Shahra floated down from the sky and kneeled to the emerald hawk.

"Master, are you hurt?" Shahra asked concerned.

"I'm just fine." Jet brushed her off.

"Where did the beast go?" Shahryar questioned, scanning the area.

Without warning the ground exploded behind the heroes, throwing them forward into the sand. Jet quickly turned around onto his back and stared towards the beast looming overhead. A thirty-foot, black cobra hissed angry with venom dripping down from its saber-long fang. Clenched around one of the fangs was the red World Ring – the ring of rage. What exactly the serpent was angry about was none of Jet's concern as he was forced to roll to the side to avoid its tail. As the Cobra jabbed its neck forward to devour the emerald hawk, Shahryar suddenly jumped between them and used his scimitar to rebound it.

"Jet, this isn't working." Shahryar stated, watching the cobra slither back and forth. "Perhaps you have something you've been keeping tucked away all this time?"

"Not that I know of." Jet answered.

"Oh, don't mind me." Shahra said bluntly, gliding overhead. "I'll just sit here and work on my tan."

For reasons unknown to Jet, the Arabian king smacked himself in the faced and glared at the emerald hawk. In the moment of distraction, the cobra coiled itself and lunged at the heroes. Jet barely spotted this in time and grasped Shahryar by his vest before throwing himself down – the cobra glided overhead. As the serpent's lengthy shadow passed, the Legendary Wind Hawk saw something glinting in his hand from the sun's rays. Once realizing it was Shahra's ring, Jet couldn't resist smacking himself for his own lack of attention. He needed to work fast as the cobra turned and made a charge for them.

"Shahra!" Jet screamed, raising his ringed hand. "I wish the World Ring was in my hands!"

"It's about time." Shahra said exasperatedly, tossing a book she was reading. "Your wish is my command, O master."

With a snap of her fingers, the Ring Genie's magic took effect. The giant cobra slowly came to a halt as the World Ring was dislodged from its fang and shot back into Jet's hand. The massive serpent hissed silently, glint at the three creatures before it, and turned back while digging into the sand.

"Well, that was easy compared to the others." Shahryar commented.

"And that makes number seven." Jet stated. He placed the ring of rage with the rest of its brethren in a rucksack that King Shahryar provided. "But something still bugs me. I thought creatures in this book couldn't touch that World Rings. So why did all those monsters have them to begin with?"

"That has me concerned as well." Shahryar nodded. "Seven beasts all under the possession of the World Rings. This is not a matter of coincidence."

"You think someone set them up?" Shahra asked horribly. "But how? No one knows where the rings were hidden except for you and Jet."

"I'll have to check with Scheherazade." Shahryar suggested. "She is more in tune with the Arabian Nights than I am. In the meantime, try to find a more secure location for where to hide the World Rings."

"As you wish, your majesty." Shahra bowed respectfully.

"Whatever." Jet waved.

Shahra gave him a sharp rap over the head. The hedgehog king rolled his eyes at the pair as they were once again caught in their usual argument and left them to their own business. Unfortunately, as Jet and Shahra were caught up in the middle of their argument, they failed to see the rucksack slowly being dragged away by an invisible force. When the argument between the partners subsided, they turned their backs to one another with a loud huff.

"I'll never understand how you became the hero of legends." Shahra said angrily.

"Like I even care." Jet sneered. "The soon we put these rings away, the soon I can go home." He reached down and groped for the rucksack – he groaned inwardly. "Shahra?"

"What?!" Shahra snapped.

"Where are the rings?" Jet moaned.

All anger between them seemed to dissolve in that instant – it took much longer than normal. Jet and Shahra scrambled across the sand, suspecting that it may have gotten buried while they weren't looking. But as the emerald hawk cleaned out a scorpions nest, he noticed something moving distantly out of the corner of his eye. A faint cloud of sand was kicked into the air across the dunes, but Jet's eyes were focused elsewhere. Because of his sharp eye, he caught a thin blur shooting across the desert. Judging by its direction, it looked like the creatures was aiming for...

"Shahra! Watch out!" Jet forewarned.

"Huh?" Shahra grunted confused.

Because her eyes were as fast as Jet's, she was unable to see the signs of danger. The ring genie shrugged and resumed digging, which proved to be a greater mistake. A tall figure finally made a full appearance behind her, raised his weapon over his shoulder for the final strike. As the warrior swung around, Jet suddenly jumped into the picture and pushed them away from each other. But by an unfortunate miscalculation, the emerald hawk was forced to suffer as the blade ripped through his skin and deep into the muscle of his right leg. Jet instinctively held onto his injury as the blood smeared across his limb.

"Augh, Great Babylon!!" Jet screamed in agony.

"Jet!!" Shahra cried, kneeling to her master. "Master, are you ok?!"

"Do I look ok to you?!" Jet screeched, hissing heavily.

"J-just s-s-stay still, m-master." Shahra requested, sobbing lightly. "I-I can tr-try to heal y-you."

"That won't be necessary." A hand reached out and pulled Shahra backwards by her wrist. Looking up, she had the unfortunate pleasure of coming face-to-face with Erazor Djinn. "That filthy pigeon should be able to survive this with only a scar as proof."

"Please, you have to let me help him!" Shahra screamed, trying to force herself out of the man's grip.

"That bird has been a thorn in my side for too long." Erazor snarled. "He deserves to die slowly."

"Too bad that isn't happening any time soon." Jet grunted as he sat up, trying to ignore the pain. "The one thing a Rogue learns is how to be resourceful."

The evil djinn raised his brow to the hawk, wondering what he could possibly do in this situation. And to answer this question, the Babylon Rogue reached into his head feathers and revealed the Babylon Crystal Box to the group. Already suspecting his plan, the dark djinn unleashed his razor blade and dived ahead for his archenemy. However, a silver chain jumped from the sand and constricted itself around Erazor's body, forcing him back into the ground. He looked back to Shahra, who was holding the end of the chain. This moment gave Jet the opportunity to unlock the power of the Crystal Box, allowing him to transform into Shining Jet. But even as the crystal hawk hovered a few feet off the ground, the scar on his leg remained unhealed.

"Damn, I thought that would work." Jet hissed as his leg continued to throb.

"The powers of Babylon can only help so much." Erazor smirked. He jumped back to his feet and shattered the chain that restrained him. "My magic has left a permanent mark upon your life. No amount of magic will be able to eradicate it."

"Like that even matters." Jet growled. "I'm still strong enough to defeat you."

The threat sounded much more convincing before he knew what he was doing. Shining Jet flashed across the sands and delivered a powerful punch directly to Erazor's jawline. Unfortunately, the corrupted djinn merely slid backwards a few feet, rubbing the area where Jet hit. Erazor's attack had clearly done more damage than just give him a scar – it cut down his power dramatically. Taking advantage of this, Erazor whipped out his signature weapon and slashed it across the Babylon Rogue's chest. That would have occurred if Jet had not jumped away in time. But upon missing his intended target, Erazor shifted his weight into his upper body to spin around, allowing him to send a striking kick to the chest. Jet's body skipped across the dunes, which allowed him enough time to catch himself in midair.

"All right, direct attacks aren't going to work." Jet muttered to himself, revealing his feathered fans. "Then we'll have to take this up a notch."

Given that his natural element was wind, a single swipe of his fans created a harsh gale that forced Erazor to go on the defensive. Two swings of his fans created a miniature dust tornado – the dark djinn was forced to stab his blade into the ground to keep himself steady.

"You think a simple little trick will save you, pigeon!" Erazor roared.

"For the last time!" Jet screeched. "I – AM – A – HAWK!!"

Collecting all his strength into his arms, Shining Jet swiped again and created a ferocious sandstorm. Unfortunately, the glowing hawk put so much force into his swing that the storm blinded everyone from view. Jet couldn't even see his own hand in front of his beak. Hoping to fix his folly, Jet swung his feathered fans again, this time in the opposite direction. The two forces cancelled each other out, allowing the storm to subside. But when the desert became clear again, Shining Jet jumped backwards once discovering Erazor floating directly in front of him. Aside from the djinn's sudden appearance, the glowing hawk became interested in the rucksack he was carrying.

"Got the ring back, huh?" Jet glared. "Why do I have the feeling tat you had something to do with those monsters."

"It was Lord Nazo who crafted those beasts." Erazor explained. "I just merely pointed them in the right direction. Of course, it wasn't easy to locate them. It took a great deal of time to deceive Sinbad into revealing their locations."

"How does that guy know everything?" Jet mumbled. "So, you gonna use those rings again?"

"On the contrary..." Erazor grinned. "You are!"

Before the glowing hawk realized what he was doing, Erazor threw open the rucksack and discarded its contents. The seven World Rings seemed drawn by Jet's power and zoomed ahead in separate directions. Four rings strained themselves around each of Jet's wrists and ankles, one snapped around his waist, another to his throat, and the last one to his forehead. The prince of Babylon was suddenly overcome by several emotions: hope, rage, hatred, sadness, joy, pleasure, and dreams. It felt as if he would his mind would collapse if the Shining Form wasn't protecting him. Feeling weakened, the glowing avian fell back into the sand, clutching his head.

"What's...happening?" Jet strained.

"This is the reason why the rings are too powerful for mere mortals." Erazor stated, gently landing next to him. "The powers of the emotions are too great for one to wear. You may have collected them before, but did not awaken their slumbering secrets."

"I...can't..." Jet hissed painfully. "Shahra...I..."

"How predictable." Erazor said spitefully, kicking Jet in the face. "Hiding behind the skirts of greater people. Lord Nazo was wrong about you becoming a stronger warrior." He unsheathed his razor blade. "It would be best if I destroy you now."

"No!" Shahra screamed jumped between them. "You can't do this, Erazor! This is not you!"

"Have you not been pay attention during my year with the Dark Rulers?" Erazor glared. "Compared to then, I am acting rather civilized."

"That's not what I mean." Shahra said mournfully, grasping the djinn's hand. "I can still remember the time before we were imprisoned within this book. All those precious memories of our days exploring the wilderness when we were children."

"Those days are long gone." Erazor said cruelly, taking his hand back.

"But you're not!" Shahra exclaimed. "You were never like this before! What happened to the kind-hearted man that I fell in love with?!"

"He's gone!" Erazor roared. The evil djinn vented his frustrations and backhanded the ring genie into the sand. "And as for you, pigeon. Your chances of escape have dwindled."

"Not...yet." Jet grunted, pushing himself to all fours. "I've...got...one trick...left."

"You lie." Erazor hissed, raising his blade to the hawk's beak. "You have nothing left to defend yourself with."

Despite being greatly weakened by the power of the rings, Jet reached into his head feathers and groped for a hidden object. When he pulled it out, Erazor nearly dropped his razor blade in shock. The red and gold lamp that served as the final containment for Erazor. The evil djinn didn't question how he had obtained his lamp and thrusted his blade into the glowing hawk's throat. In an unexpected shift, Shining Jet suddenly pushed out his hand and captured the razor between his fingers. Erazor tried to tug his weapon back, but the glowing hawk refused to release.

"Last time we met..." Jet panted, slowly regaining control. "I only used...two wishes. That means...I still have... one wish left."

"Take your best shot." Erazor challenged. "I am immortal, so you cannot kill me. And even if you imprison me within my lamp, it will only be a matter of time before I am released again."

"You're right...on both..." Jet coughed. "That's why...I'm going to save...you."

"Save me?" Erazor repeated.

"My third and final wish..." Jet wheezed. "I wish...for you to be free...from the shadow...that controls you."

A red spark rocketed from the hole within the lamp and thrusted into Erazor's chest, sending the dark djinn flailing into the sand. Erazor twitched and fidgeted restlessly – his eyes rolled backwards into his head while screaming into the sky. The dark djinn's purple skin slowly began to fade away and gained a sandy-dark tone similar to Shahra's. Without warning, a thick stream of shadows ejected from Erazor's throat and became a shapeless mass in the clouds. And before it vanished, Jet could have sworn he heard its deathly whisper.

"This isn't over." The shadow hissed. "I will return for vengeance, Jet the Hawk!"

And with that, everything went black.

* * *

With an audible groan, Jet opened his eyes after what felt like an eternity. As he stared upwards, his few was blocked off by a smooth wall of grey – he was no longer in the desert. The Babylon prince pushed himself into a sitting position and discovered that he was in the guest room where Jet often spent his nights in Shahryar's palace. Jet happily took note that his Shining Form was depleted, but the World Rings were no longer choking the life out of him. But that hardly lasted before Shahra jumped out of nowhere and gave him a hug that would rival Amy's

"Master, I was so worried that you were dead!" Shahra cried.

"Give it two more minutes and I will be." Jet chocked.

"I'm sorry, but I am just so grateful." Shahra said, releasing her master. "You not only saved the Arabian Night from its greatest threat, you also saved the man I love from himself."

"Where is Erazor, anyway?" Jet questioned.

"He went back to the real world." Shahra said sadly. "He said he's not ready to return home until he has proven himself worthy of repenting for his deeds. I hope he comes back soon."

"Only time will tell." Jet said wisely. "Hey, Shahra, can I ask you for one more favor?"

"Anything, master." Shahra smiled.

"That's something you're going to have stop." Jet stated seriously. "Because I don't want you to grant me anymore wishes."

"What?!" Shahra exclaimed shockingly. "Why not?!"

"It's about what Erazor said." Jet proclaimed. "He said I always rely on other people to do my dirty work. And when I think about it, he's right. If I want to become a real leader like the rest of family, I need to learn how to deal with situations on my own." He stared at the ring Genie, who was wiping a tear from her eye. "But this isn't good bye. We can still each other from time to time."

"I...I guess you're right." Shahra said understandingly. "What is your wish, master?"

"Shahra..." Jet said hesitantly. "I wish...for your freedom."

Though she was obviously hesitant, Shahra snapped her finger and did the deed. The ring bracelets on each of Shahra's wrists detached themselves from their former owner, clattering loudly on the floor. Looking back to his own ring, Jet watched as the former glow suddenly died down and disappeared completely – the ring was useless.

"Master..." Shahra whispered.

"Hey, there's no need for that." Jet grinned. "We're still friends, after all."

"Thank you...Jet." Shahra giggled.

* * *

The scene alternates to an unknown land far from the Arabian Nights, possibly far from reality. A forest of deceased and corridor trees blew eerily in the wind beneath the sea of dark clouds. A small sliver of light managed to puncture through the impenetrable nimbuses, which allowed a thin stream of shadows to dive towards the ground. The enigmatic darkness slammed into the path between the trees, slowly reforming into a solid figure. The shadows had transformed to tall human woman with silky purple hair twisted down her back and ended at a golden ring. She wore a flowing violet robe and a golden tiara with a red droplet on her forehead. Despite the obvious differences, her face greatly resembled Shahra's. The unknown female growled in frustration, leaning against her scepter.

"I can't believe this." The woman sneered. "My one chance of freedom was stolen. And by that infuriating pigeon, no less. I swear, I will find a way to destroy him, even if I must use my own power."

The small fracture of light that entered the forest reflected off the jade orb of the woman's scepter and rebounded into the darkness. It shined through the trees and glimmered against something unseen. Staring curiously at the spot, the woman stepped forward and groped her hands into the darkness until she felt something cold. Pulling her hand back, she soon realized that she had suddenly obtained a sword. But unlike a normal sword, the body was made from pure black steel, the handle was made of silver wire, and the crest looked vaguely like a wyvern.

"Well, well, well..." The woman grinned menacingly. "Looks like my luck is about to change."

**

* * *

**

There are no shortcuts be becoming strong. How will Jet fair without Shahra's magic? Will he prove to be a valuable leader and a great warrior? And who is this enigmatic woman? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!

**Please, read and review.**


	92. Legends of Blood, Part 1

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Part 1 of 3: The Bat Colony Saga

Chapter Ninety-Two: Legends of Blood, Part 1

The scene opens to a castaway village far from the reaches of the modernized world. But this village no longer needed to be concerned of the outside world. Mounds of heavy smoke rose from the homes of the villagers, who were all scattered across the streets and their home, soaked in puddles of blood. The entire incident was a massacre, which was left with only one survivor. A younger teenaged boy with spiky grey hair and piecing gold eye crawled his way out of a dark alley – he was covered from head to toe in blood. The young boy panted, looking over his shoulder back into the alley.

"You are a strange one."

The young boy jumped back in surprise. The human raised his hands in defense when a new character suddenly appeared before him. He was a tall crimson bat appropriately eighteen years of age with a pair of lengthy black wings. He wore a suit of lightweight scarlet armor with a flowing black cape and a dark symbol on the shoulder of his armor. The unknown bat glanced at the young boy before turning his attention back into the alley. Against the shadows, he could spot several bats of different shapes and sizes – each of them presented some form of gash that led to their deaths.

"Wow, I'm impressed." The bat said honestly. "I have never known a person to take on a swarm of Bat Colony soldiers single-handedly. Not anyone alive, anyway. What did you say your name was?"

"....." The boy remained silent.

"Oh, I get it." The bat nodded. "You're a mute. Well, I know I'm going to get in trouble for this, but I'm thinking of letting you go. Just be sure to lay low for a while in case anyone else tries to get some revenge."

The silent teenager eyed the crimson deviant, slowly backing away. After taking two steps away, the savage human declared that it was safe and scurried away on all fours. For the briefest moment, the unknown savior watched the silent human vanish across the border of the village. Then he witnessed two shadows flying across the ground. The crimson warrior turned to face two more bat of his species. One was a few inches shorter than the red bat and was a female with ocean-blue fur, clad in sapphire-blue armor with a flowing black cape. The second bat was taller than the others with grassy-green fur, wearing reinforced, emerald armor with a flowing cape as well.

"What happened here, Rogue?" The female questioned.

"Very messy business, Siren." Rogue answered nonchalantly. "Apparently, we had a few stragglers that decided hang around for a while. They were caught off guard by the villagers and both sides were slaughtered."

"You know I can tell when a person is lying." Siren said coolly. "Your voice becomes only a tad lower when you lie."

"Rogue is in trouble." The large bat sang childishly.

"Shut up, Phantom!" Rogue snapped. "What do you guys want? I'm still working on the mission that Commander Syix gave us."

"That's good news." Siren commented. "Because the commander wants us to return to the Colony."

"What?!" Rogue exclaimed in shock. "What for?!"

"The queen has returned to her kingdom." Siren said cryptically.

* * *

The scene alternates to a wide valley hidden beneath a large row of mountains. The large valley contained a number of untouched plant-life with a wide sweep of tall trees clustered around a gigantic lake. For reasons unknown, human have never really tried to modernize the valley as they usually did with new land – animals preferred nature the way it was. And seated in the glade around the lake, two well-known characters sat side-by-side, enjoying each other's company. There was only nine days left until the wedding would take place, giving a Knuckles and Rouge little time to plan ahead.

"You know, this place isn't half bad." Knuckles commented. "How did you know about this place again?"

"I don't know – Instinct?" Rouge shrugged. "You've got to admit, this place isn't a bad idea for a honeymoon resort."

"At least then, I can – I mean, we can finally get away from that spiky-haired, blue annoyance."

"That right." Rogue said amorously with a soft growl. "Just you, me, and with none of our little stowaways!"

The engaged couple narrowed their eyes with intense anger and looked back over their shoulders. Charmy was buzzing around the air in an annoying fashion, Storm was trying the jump for a piece of fruit hanging from the tree, and Omega stood motionless. But when Rouge's irritable snap distracted him, Charmy accidentally pointed his stinger toward Storm's backside, who proceeded to jump above the trees. The large albatross eventually came down and landed on the Omega, who immediately activated his gatling guns in reaction. Knuckles quickly pulled his lover down to avoid the shots and Charmy barely survived as the bullets formed his outline on the tree.

"That was awesome!" Charmy cheered hyperactively.

"I don't believe it." Knuckles groaned as he and Rouge sat up. "We just wanted to be alone for a few days since we have been living with you guys for a whole year. What are you three even doing here anyway?"

"I thought you were going on a super cool mission." Charmy said optimistically.

"I was trying to prevent the escape of the young bee unit!" Omega stated.

"I was lonely." Storm said pathetically.

Just calm down, knucklehead." Rouge said, grinning deviously. "In over a week from now, we'll have a long time for a little...fun."

"Too bad it doesn't come soon enough." Knuckles said gruffly, pushing back to his feet. "I'm going for a walk to calm my nerves."

As he walked into the forest, he could hear a small part of Rouge's screams as she berated the trio. But as the echidna guardian brushed his way through the canopy of trees, he began to allow his mind to wander away from him. Rouge may have thought for this trip to be a vacation, but Knuckles wanted to use it to think. He was the one who proposed to Rouge nearly a year ago, but there were some times when he regretted his hasty actions. He was a guardian and she was a thief. He wanted to protect the Master Emerald and she wanted to steal it. But when it came down to it, there were more differences between them than the echidna guardian had first imagined.

"_Ok, so we are exact opposites._" Knuckles thought desperately. "_But opposites attract....right?_"

Knuckles wasn't truly convinced. Fortunately, his mind was distracted by a sudden snap coming from the bushes. At first, he would have thought it to be Rouge or the others. But Knuckles, who was trained in detecting familiar Chaos Energies, could sense that the heroes were still back at the lake. The guardian echidna tightened his fists and raised them in preparation for anything that would come. Several long, agonizing moments passed in silence until...

"Hmm...Impressive defense." A voice echoed.

That was all Knuckles need to make his move. The guardian echidna spun around and struck one of the trees in its core, splitting the mighty oak down the middle. He caught sight of a figure trying to make its escape, but captured a pebble in his hand and flung it in the creature's direction. The rock made direct contact with the creature's wing, forcing the figure to lose balance and drive towards the ground. Knuckles cautiously approached the grounded creature as it slowly forced itself back it its feet, clutching the bone of its wing. Now imagine Knuckles, who had never met another bat other than Rouge, when he came in contact with Rogue.

"Hey, not bad." Rogue compliment humorously. "You must have some skill if you were able to touch me."

"What are you doing here?" Knuckles asked; his fists still raised.

"I could ask you the same question." Rogue responded. "This valley is specifically controlled by my colony. And since you do not have permission to walk these grounds, you are trespassing."

"Listen, I just came here to think." Knuckles glowered.

"Well, you'll have plenty of time to do that in the afterlife." Rogue hissed.

The armored bat jumped forward, pulling back his weight to throw his legs out. Knuckles effortlessly pushed the attack aside, which turned out to be what Rogue had planned. As his feet were pushed aside, Rogue pressed his hands into the ground and spun his entire body around for a second strike. Reacting quickly, Knuckles brought up his arms and blocked the attack with his forearms, but was still pushed to the side. Afterwards, the armored warrior pushed himself up and caught the wind beneath his wings, allowing him to remained airborne. This provided Rogue with the advantage as Knuckles could only remain on the ground, forced to throw objects from below. Rogue effortless dodged the pieces of wood and pebbles and stuck out his foot to kick off of the echidna's face.

"What's the matter, mole?" Rogue taunted. "Can't keep up?"

"Why don't you come down here to make it a fair fight?!" Knuckles roared.

"You think I'm stupid?" Rogue laughed. "I know you could beat me on the ground. Rule #4 of combat: Always play to your advantage."

"You're nothing without your little flying trick." Knuckles stated.

"That may be true." Rogue admitted. "But let's see just how well you deal with this."

The armored warrior took a quick turn and made a swift dive for the echidna, but this suddenly fell into Knuckles' favor. All of a sudden, the guardian echidna grabbed a nearby tree and ripped the oak from the ground – roots and all. Rogue was clearly impressed by this feat that he failed to notice Knuckles swinging the tree until it had already made contact. Rogue was tossed through the thick brush of leaves and smacked into one of the oaks – a sharp snap echoed. Pushing himself up, the armored warrior realized that his left wing was bent out of place.

"Damn, that hurts like hell." Rogue cursed.

"Looks like your grounded." Knuckles joked; Rogue groaned in embarrassment. "What?! I'm not Sonic!!"

"You just got lucky, mole." Rogue proclaimed defiantly. "I can promise you that it won't happen a second time."

"What are going to do without your wings to save you?" Knuckles questioned.

The crimson bat did not give the echidna his answer, but moved his hand towards his shoulder. A latch was heard un snapping, surprising Knuckles and the armor was slowly removed. When the armor was discarded, Rogue seemed noticeably thin for his age, but seemed physically fit for battle. He wore grey fingerless, black boots with silver outlines and red laces, and an aquamarine belt with small packs tied around his waist. Knuckles also noticed that he took a momentary glance to his left wrist, which was grabbed by a small rope bracelet with multi-colored beads.

"Ah, that's better." Rogue sighed in relief. "I should have a better advantage like this."

"You think losing a couple of pound will give you a better chance?" Knuckles questioned.

"I don't know." Rogue grinned wickedly. "Why don't we find out?"

And with that, Rogue blurred out of sight and reappeared behind the guardian echidna. Knuckles, who has had experience fighting Sonic and Shadow, turned swiftly on his heels and captured Rogue's fist into his own. The winged warrior was clearly surprised at his opponents speed, but was swift to recover. Rogue swiped his foot upwards, jabbing boot into Knuckles' chin. The echidna guardian had unintentionally released him, which left himself open for Rogue to jab his fist into the echidna's stomach. Knuckles staggered backwards in a dazed state, giving the warrior bat one last opportunity he need. Rogue kicked off the ground and, thought his wing was still injured, wrapped them around his body like a cocoon. The winged warrior began spinning around at a rapid pace, giving him the appearance of a black drill.

"**Screw Wing!!**" Rogue screamed.

Knuckles noticed that the attack had a vague similarity to Rouge's signature Screw Kick technique. The echidna guardian threw out his hands in hopes of capturing the attack much he does with Rouge. But the cocoon of wings was too smooth for Knuckles to capture, which allowed the bat to pierce his defenses. The strike went deep into the echidna's chest and flung him backwards past the forest and returning to the clearing. The heroes gasped in shock once their proud leader was flung from the trees and collapsed near the lake.

"Knuckles!" Rouge cried, dropping near her fiancé. "Come on, Knuckie. Please get up."

"Rouge...." Knuckles groaned.

"What happened to the red mutt?" Storm asked; a large vein appeared on Knuckles forehead.

"Thermal sensors detects hostile life-form!" Omega announced, revealing his gatling gun. "Standing by for counterattack."

"What if it's a scary monster?!" Charmy screeched, causing Rouge to smack him upside the head. "Ow...."

"Watch out for this guy." Knuckles hissed painfully. "He's very fast and stronger in close combat. We should have Omega fight from a distance."

"Enemy location confirmed!" Omega announced, throwing out his gun. "Target discovered 5.3 meters from current location."

"Actually, it's much closer than that." Rogue voice echoed.

Immediately following, Omega unleashed a shower of bullets into the tress, knocking off some of the branches. With the ballistic assault, Rogue was forced to leave his cover in the trees and landed on the ground – his injured wing was bleeding. And when the wounded warrior looked up, Omega's gun was pointed directly at his face.

"Hey..." Rogue said coolly. "What's going on?"

"Target apprehended!" Omega stated. "Waiting for further instructions."

"Whoa, hold up there!" Rogue exclaimed. "What's all this for?! I was just defending what's mine!"

"You hurt knucklehead!" Charmy shouted; Rogue sniggered. "What give you the right to do that, meanie?!"

"Like I said, I was just defending what's mine." Rogue repeated. "This territory belongs to..."

But the crimson warrior trialed off when he locked eyes with the female bat holding her fiancé. While Rogue seemed to be at a loss for words, Rouge seemed equally as shocked as he was. But Knuckles, on the other hand, didn't seem too happy with his lover staring unblinkingly at his attacker. Rogue raised his left hand up – Omega cocked his gun in preparation – and showed the beaded bracelet to the group. The heroes gazed at him funny, but that was before Rouge took off her right glove, revealing an exact replica of the beaded bracelet.

"Rogue?" Rouge asked nervously.

"Rouge?" Rogue responded.

"Oh I don't believe it!!" Rouge shouted happily.

The female bat quickly left her lover's side and pushed Omega out of the way. Rogue jumped up to his feet and opened his arms to embrace Rouge tightly. Storm and Charmy stared at the two with their mouths gaping while Omega just stood motionlessly. Knuckles, on the other hand, seemed pissed beyond belief. Why in the world would Rouge be hugging the person who nearly put him into a comatose? After a quick moment, the two bats separated.

"Rouge, I can't believe it's been ten years since we've seen each other." Rogue laughed excitedly; his eyes momentarily dropped to her chest. "Looks like you finally filled out just like you wanted. Dreams do come true, huh?"

"Dreams?" Storm repeated.

"Hey, I was a kid back then!" Rouge exclaimed embarrassingly.

"Yeah, back when she was a kid, she was flat..." Rogue said before Rouge elbowed him in the gut. "Anyway, what have you been up to all these years?"

"Why don't you take a look for yourself?" Rouge said as removed her remaining glove. The white bat grinned with pride as Rogue's caught sight of her engagement ring. "That's right; you're looking at a married woman."

"But you're not married yet." Storm said pointedly; Rouge stomped his toe. "Yow! What'd I do?!"

"That's...great." Rogue said halfheartedly, which only Knuckles seemed to notice. "I'm very happy for you, Rouge."

"Thanks." Rouge smiled, replacing her gloves. "So what have you been up to?"

"Believe it or not, I've actually been put on a mission to bring you back home." Rogue stated.

"Back home?" Rouge said confused.

* * *

The scene alternates to the highest mountain within the valley, where the heroes were forced to climb up the rocky surface. Because his wing was still injured from the fight, Rogue was forced to walk with the rest of the group as they traveled further up the mountain. Rouge was offered a chance to go on ahead, but refused so that she could stay and talk with Rogue – Knuckles wasn't pleased by this. The guardian echidna stared at Rogue's backside spitefully as he and Rouge were talking animatedly between each other. Storm, who was climbing with Knuckles as they carried Omega, seemed to notice this rather quickly.

"Hey, you ok, bud." Storm asked worried.

"I just don't get it." Knuckles grumbled. "This guy is only back for two minutes and Rouge wants to spend all her time with him. That guy tried to kill me over an hour ago."

"They were childhood friends." Storm reasoned. "They haven't seen each other in over ten years. If me, boss, or Wave were separated for that long, I'd want to enjoy all the time we have together."

"I guess you're right." Knuckles pouted. "Man, I can't believe I said that."

"Said what?!" Charmy shouted randomly.

The two powerhouses were surprised by the bee's sudden outburst and accidentally released their grips on the mountain. It took them another twenty minutes to climb back up. Finally, once they had reached near the pinnacle of the mountain, the group of six stopped outside a large opening to a cave. Judging by the echoing noises emerging from it, they tunnel was massive and occupied.

"Welcome, Rouge." Rogue said joyously. "To your birthright."

The heroes followed their new alley into the cavern, where they were met with a monumental surprise. What they expected to be a small tunnel was actually a gigantic cavern that seemed to spread out through the entire mountain. But the biggest shock came from those who occupied the space. Other than Rouge, no one had ever seen another bat in the world. But now they could see over a hundred of bats flying and cluttering around the cavern – this was their way of socializing. Of all the heroes, Rouge seemed to be the most surprised.

"I never realized..." Rouge said softly.

"That there would be other like you." Rogue and the heroes looked over as Siren and Phantom landed. Both bats seemed pleased by their appearance and kneeled to before them. "The bat species has been keeping its existence for many years out of fear. But now our dream of rejoining the world will become a reality, Mistress Rouge."

"Mistress Rouge." The female said pleasurably. "I like that sound of that. You people know how to greet a lady."

"That's not what they meant, Rouge." Rogue chuckled lightly.

"The term comes from your own heritage." A new voice sounded. "Much to be expect from the daughter of our greatest leader."

Siren and Phantom both stood up and split apart to present a path for their leader. He was a tall white bat with snowy-white hair close to Rouge's color and piercing gold eyes. He wore a flowing red coat with the colony symbol printed on the back, black boots with purple sidelines, a pair of deathly-black gloves, and a black locket hanging from his neck. Without warning, the man throw his arm over Rouge's shoulder and embarrassed her tightly. The female hero felt uneasy about being hugged by a stranger.

"It's good to see you again, child." The bat said kindly.

"Thanks...uh..." Rouge said uncertainly.

"This is Commander Syix." Rogue explained, much to Rouge's relief. ""He is in charge of keeping our colony safe...and he's also your uncle."

"My uncle?" Rouge repeated.

"Her uncle?!" The heroes exclaimed simultaneously.

"That's right." Syix smiled. "Your father, General Rynod, was my brother. He was a proud leader that led our colony to broaden its horizons. Unfortunately, an unwarranted attack on our kind killed your father before your birth. With his death, we were forced to retreat back to our original nesting grounds."

"That's so sad." Charmy sniffed.

"Oh, forgive me." Syix said, just noticing the heroes. "I didn't see you guys there. You must be friends with my dear niece."

"In a way." Knuckles said strictly, pointing to the others. "This is Storm, Charmy and Omega. And my name is Knuckles the Echidna." He eyes glanced over to Rogue. "Rouge's future husband."

"So you're an echidna?" Syix asked; his smile faded. "I heard you were the last of your kind."

"I thought that, too." Knuckles nodded. "But it turns out that it was only my tribe that had suffered all those centuries ago. Our rivaling clan has survived for thousands of years. They just made the wrong choices."

"I am so sorry to hear that." Syix said in a hollow voice, turning to his trusted elite. "Well, you all must be weary from your travels. Rogue and the others will show you to your sleeping chamber while I introduce Rouge to her heritage."

"Gee, thanks, mister." Charmy said happily.

"Rouge, are you going to be all right?" Knuckles asked cautiously.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Rouge said with a pleasing smile on her expression. "These are my people and I am a queen here. You boys go off and enjoy yourselves. Your majesty has a lot of living to catch up on."

Knuckles didn't seem convinced, but reluctantly followed Rogue and the elites down the stone stairway. The echidna looked back to his lover for a moment before she was out of view. The elites led the heroes down to the lowest part of the cavern, which took a long while to travel because most of the heroes couldn't fly. All the while, Phantom began telling the heroes stories about the colony's biggest exploits in its history, which Rogue and Siren were fearful for. Fortunately, he did not reach the subjects of their recent raids.

"General Rynod was said to be the greatest leader in our colony's history." Phantom continued eagerly. "When he took over, that became the turning point of our people's lives."

"What happened?" Storm asked excitedly.

"General Rynod led our people out of hiding." Phantom stated. "He gave us the courage to travel to the outside world and make the Bat Colony known around the world."

"Wait a minute..." Knuckles murmured thoughtfully. "Bat Colony..."

_

* * *

_

---Flashback---

The scene returned to South Island, shortly after the reunion between the family members. Gale was sitting between Sonic and Aleena with his youngest child, Stream, sitting in his wife's lap. The hedgehog family was faced against the other members of the Sonic Heroes and Seven Seas Crew. However, Jet was still trying to put some distance between himself and his father, and Kyira and Nyrox were still missing. Gale had just reached to the end of his latest story of when Accel and Mech joined the crew.

"Man, I can't believe mom thought you were trying to trick her." Sonic said in awe.

"Hey, Naga was a crafty snake!" Aleena excused.

"So what happened next?" Tails asked.

"Shortly after I left, some guy named Rynod arrived." Gale continued. "He tried to take over South Island through a political takeover. Unfortunately, because Aleena wasn't married, she couldn't officially be queen. That when the Bat Colony made their move."

_---End Flashback---_

* * *

"I remember now!" Knuckles shouted, catching the others by surprise. "Rynod tried to take over South Island so that the Bat Colony could control the world!" He glared at the elites. "And you knew this, didn't you?!"

"It looks like our secret is out." Siren said coolly. "Then I guess we no longer need to continue this charade."

Without warning, Rogue spun around and kicked his foot into Charmy's tiny chest. The impact shot the young bee into Storm, who collided with Omega to drop them down the nearest tunnel. Knuckles tried to counterattack by thrusting his fist into Phantom's face. But much to the echidna's surprise, his namesakes went through the emerald bat as if he wasn't there. Phantom turned around and grabbed the echidna's wrist – his hand was solid – before throwing him down the tunnel with the others.

"Hey, what was hat for?!" Charmy yelled.

"Logical probabilities have detected solution!" Omega announced. "They had brought us her to separate us from Rouge!"

"That's right." Phantom nodded. "She doesn't need scum like you hanging around."

"What do you want with her?" Knuckles growled.

"It would be such a waste to tell you." Siren stated. "Seeing as how you won't be around much longer."

The heroes quickly tried to get back to their feet, but it was in vein. While her partners covered their ears, Siren tilted her head to the ceiling and opened her mouth to release an earsplitting shriek. The heroes, with the exception of Omega, dropped to the ground clutching their ears. However, this was not Siren's intentional plan. The powerful shriek shattered the ceiling of the tunnel, causing the cave to collapse over them. The last thing Knuckles saw was Rogue's enraged glare before everything fell into darkness.

**

* * *

**

A hidden secret leads to an impending disaster. Will the Heroes be able to survive the unexpected attack? Will Knuckles find a way to save his love? And what does the Bat Colony need with Rouge? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!

**Please, read and review.**


	93. Legends of Blood, Part 2

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Part 2 of 3: The Bat Colony Saga

Chapter Ninety-Three: Legends of Blood, Part 2

The scene opens to the Bat Colony roost hidden within the mountains. While members of this rare species flocked and fluttered within the catacombs of their secret home, the leaders were contently enjoying themselves. Rouge, having discovered she was the daughter of their previous leader, sat across her lost uncle in a nice and quiet dinning room. All though the marble table, silver tableware, and suits of armor gave the room a sense of royalty, it was still vastly dark compared to most. This was natural to bat, who were nocturnal creatures.

"So, are you enjoying yourself, my dear?" Syix asked pleasantly.

"Eh, it's kinda nice." Rouge shrugged. "But it does get a bit lonely after a while."

"Well, I guess I've grown used to it." Syix said nonchalantly. "After my brother was killed in the war and my sister-in-law went missing for all these years, I guess I forgot what it was like to spend time with family."

"Oh...sorry." Rouge apologized sadly.

"There is no need to wallow in the sorrows of the past." Syix said enthusiastically. "Please, just enjoy the moments we have together. I'm sure father would have been very pleased with you accomplishments these previous times."

Though Rouge knew she had been complimented in the highest manner, she didn't feel proud of herself for some reason. When thinking back to her childhood, her mother had always been stern to avoid the subject of her father entirely. Was it because she was sad...or because she was angry? As she consumed the fine wine presented to her, Rogue suddenly dropped from the ceiling and settles at the side of the table. And kneeled between them, looking in neither direction with great discipline.

"The echidna and their friends have made themselves accommodated with their quarters." Rogue reported monotonously, which Rouge found to be unusual. "The albatross and the bee decided to rest for the day after their trip up here."

"What about Omega and the Knucklehead?" Rouge asked curiously.

"The robot wanted to repair his systems." Rogue informed. "Apparently, the altitude was affecting his processor. The echidna decided to visit the training grounds at the lowest section of the catacombs."

"That does sound like something that idiot would to." Rouge nodded.

But while Rouge distracted herself with the feasts presented to her, Rogue secretly edged closer to his leader without the female knowing. Soon enough, he stood directly behind Syix, who was watching his niece intently. The crimson bat lowered himself to speak directly into his leader's ear without being overheard.

"We did as you requested, commander." Rogue whispered. "The echidna and his companions have been properly dealt with."

"I would not be too confident." Syix replied seriously. "If even half the things Kai told us is true, then the Heroes are expected to be more resilient than we realize. Send Siren and Phantom to be sure that the job is done."

Rogue nodded and trended backwards into the shadows.

* * *

The scene alternates to the collapsed cave where Knuckles and the others were buried under. Nearly ten minutes after the order was issued, the emerald and sapphire bats were sighted at the entrance to the cave-in. While Phantom was forced to do the heavy lifting, Siren was easily shattering her way through the rock with her piercing shriek.

"I don't get why I have to do all the hard work." Phantom moaned as he tossed aside another stone. "Wouldn't it just be easier if I just phased through and dragged their bodies back out?"

"There are two problems with that, you idiot." Siren sneered. "For one, your powers can work on your own body and not affect other object. And two, you need to become solid if you want to grab objects. It wouldn't be smart to regain your physical form with a wall of rocks through your chest, numbskull."

"It was just a suggestion." Phantom mumbled.

"Next time, you might want to give thinking a chance." Siren grumbled, using her powers between sentences. "You might not know this, but one day..."

When she was about to say was left unheard. At that instant, a spiked fist burst out from the rock wall and made a path for Phantom, who activated his powers on instinct. The fist was tossed through the armored bat's body along with the rest of the echidna that followed after. As Knuckles landed behind, Phantom turned swiftly on his heels and swung his claw around for the echidna's throat. However, Storm exploded from the rock pile and tackled the emerald bat from behind, shooting him backwards into the main stairway. Siren drew in sharp breath of air when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Omega emerged with his Gatling gun raised and unleashed a violent wave for the sapphire warrior. Siren turned her attention back toward the robot and released a violent shriek; effectively destroying the bullets. But just when she thought she had succeeded in stopping them, she noticed something yellow below her and found Charmy attempt to make an assault. Unfortunately, the bee's tiny fist barely made any damage.

"What was that?" Siren ridiculed.

"I don't know." Charmy laughed nervously flying back to Omega. "Just thought I'd give it a shot."

"Commander Syix was right about you guys." Phantom groaned, pressing his spine. "How'd you guys survive that?"

"With a bit of Teamwork." Knuckles smirked. "Omega used his body to keep the boulders from falling on top of use while I used these..." He showed the Shovel Claws attached to his gloves. "To dig a way to safety. Then Storm used his natural sense of navigation to lead us directly to you guys."

"I did the cheers." Charmy said; everyone sweat dropped.

"Hmm...Very interesting." Siren hummed thoughtfully. "Kai had told us that you were fourth in command of the Sonic Heroes, but we all thought it was because you were a muscle bound idiot like Phantom." The emerald bat whined at the remark. "But it appears you have an unusual quality for strategy."

"Hey, we work together!" Storm shouted. "It's our duty to help each other!"

"Such loyalty." Siren said sadistically. "I will take much pleasure in severing those bonds between you."

"Negative!!" Omega exclaimed, prepping his weapon. "Statistics shows that chances of failure are improbable!!"

"You're dealing with the Bat Colony." Siren smirked wickedly. "You'll find that anything is possible for us."

From there, the battle had begun. Storm was the first to strike once he charged ahead and drove his fist through Phantom's chest through his powers. After the rotund Albatross passed through, the emerald warrior swung his leg around and buried it into the bird's shoulder. However, the impact was not as powerful as expected once Knuckles grabbed the bat by his ankle. The echidna guardian lifted Phantom off the ground and swung him around to toss him into the wall, watching the bat slump to the floor.

"Hey, you were right." Storm said cheerfully to his friend.

"Right about what?" Phantom hissed painfully, clutching his shoulder.

"When I attacked you earlier, my attack went straight through you." Knuckles explained, remembering the event. "But when you attack me, your body was solid. That's when I realized something: you couldn't fight when using your powers. So Storm and I tricked you into attacking one of us so that you would leave yourself wide open."

"And it actually worked!" Storm cheered.

"_Interesting..._" Siren thought. "_He might not be the brightest bulb, but he seems to excel in battle strategy. Kai wasn't kidding when he said that the Heroes are slowly growing._"

"Initiating attack sequence!!" Omega exclaimed.

The sapphire bat was brought out of her thoughts when she heard Omega's gun click. The armor warrior turned back to the robot and confronted a wall of silver bullets. Reacting swiftly, Siren opened her jaws as far as she could and released her loud screech possible – the walls shook uncontrollably. The bullets were reflected back to Omega, whose weight and armor protected him from the bats powers. Knowing his original plan failed, Omega opened a secret compartment in its arms and shot two rockets for the warrior. Siren – her voice slowly growing weaker – flipped over the projectiles as they exploded behind her.

"Surrender is advised!" Omega exclaimed, raising his arm. "Statistics show that probability of winning is at seventy-two percent!"

"Why don't you take your statistics," Siren snarled. "And stick it up your..."

"There are children present!" Knuckles interjected.

* * *

Meanwhile, the scene alternates to the entrance of the Bat Colony roost. Rouge was sitting at the edge of the cliff, staring out to the country side. Even thought she had discovered the other members of her species, reunited with her oldest friend, and learned she was a technical queen, she was far from happy. She had requested to see Knuckles at the training grounds, but Syix refused to show her where they were. She had tried to look for her friends everywhere, but she couldn't find them – she was alone.

"Hey." The female looked over as Rogue was seated next to her. "I was wondering where you had run off to."

"Just taking the moment to think." Rouge mumbled.

"I heard you were looking for Knuckles and the others." Rogue said unusually serious.

"It doesn't matter." Rouge shrugged. "I couldn't find them anyway, which is a bit out of character for those guys. I expected the little brat to at least be causing trouble somewhere."

"Yeah..." Rogue said softly. "Hey, do you remember the day we met."

"How could I forget?" Rouge smiled, reminiscing on the day. "I was playing in the lake when mama found you lying in the bushes, all battered and bruised. I stayed at your side for six days until you finally woke up."

"That was during my early days when training for the Colony." Rogue stated. "The test was a scenario to recover a stolen artifact from the enemy. I had managed to sneak it and retrieve the object, but the trouble was getting out – I was spotted. Luckily, I managed to get far enough to hide. And that where you found me."

"And that was all from a training mission?" Rouge question, her brow raised.

"It was a time of crisis for our people." Rogue stated. "It was supposed to be my mission, but I failed. I didn't return home in time because of one unexpected complication."

"What?" Rouge asked.

"I fell in love." Rogue answered.

There was an awkward moment of silence between them. The two bats, who had been best friends since their earliest childhood, were now forced to think over this newest development. There had been times when Rouge had thought of the crimson elite, but they had never gone as far as actual infatuations. The man in question was afraid he might have taken it too far as his female companion was trying desperately not to lock eyes with him.

"How long?" Rouge asked quietly.

"Since I first woke up." Rogue answered. "When I saw you, something in my heart refused to let you go. I had hoped that you would return to the Bat Colony with me, but your mother was adamant not to allow it." He brought up his arm, showing the beaded bracelet. "When you gave this to me as a good bye gift, I knew I had to find you. But then...he showed up."

"Knuckles." Rouge murmured.

"I don't understand how you could choose him." Rogue said heated. "He's arrogant, hot-headed, narrow-minded, and a savage brute. How could a sophisticated and loving woman fall for a guy like that?"

"All the things you said about him are true." Rouge smiled. "But you forgot that he is compassionate, caring, trustworthy, selfless, and..." She giggled pervertedly. "A bit sexy. And despite all his flaws, I can't stop loving him."

"Rouge..." Rogue said softly.

"And if you were really my best friend," Rouge said seriously, staring directly into his eyes. "You would be happy for me."

The two friends merely gazed at one another – neither was showing any emotion. Then suddenly, Rogue stood up and stalked back into the catacombs. The female bat had feared she may have aggravated her oldest friend and possible shattered their relationship. But the thoughts of him were pushed aside once Commander Syix walked out of the cave mouth at the same moment Rogue had entered.

"Trouble in paradise?" Syix joked.

"You could say that." Rouge said coolly.

"Oh, don't worry." Syix said softly, patting his niece's shoulder softly. "Rouge, please come with me. It's time you knew about you father's legacy."

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the collapsed tunnel, the battle seemed very close to an end. Siren and Phantom stood tiredly on the stairway with pieces of their armor shattered and the sapphire warrior's throat was stinging. Storm seemed to be too tired to stand, Omega's left arm was sparking violently, and Knuckles seemed on the verge of collapsing. Charmy was the only one unharmed mostly because he was the weakest of everyone and stood back on the sidelines. The scarlet echidna drew up the last strength his muscles would allow and charged ahead for Siren.

"This isn't over." Knuckles groaned.

"Oh, I think it is." Siren said hoarsely.

The echidna thrusted his fist ahead, only to watched as his efforts were wasted. Siren sidestepped the attack and grabbed Knuckles wrist to throw him over her shoulder. Knuckles was thrown into Omega, who dropped backwards into the ground along with the rest of his team. With three of the major powerhouses of the Sonic Heroes down for the count, the chances didn't look too good for them. And, unfortunately, this left Charmy to pick up the slack. But that didn't really help much when the little bee was three times smaller than Phantom and was beating his tiny fists into his chest.

"Seriously, what are you doing?" Phantom questioned bluntly.

"I thought I'd just give it a try." Charmy said feebly, floating back to his team. "But I think I'll just sit down."

"You won't get away with this." Knuckles grunted weakly. "Whatever you're planning, it won't work."

"We can neither confirm nor argue with that statement." Siren said.

"The truth is that even the Elite Soldiers don't know what Command Syix is doing." Phantom stated; a throbbing vein appeared on Siren's forehead. "All he told us was to capture Mistress Rouge and destroy her friends."

"You're not supposed to tell them that, you idiot!" Siren yelled, holding her throat painfully.

"Not a very trusting leader." Storm commented.

"We are Elite Soldiers." Siren said, pulled a dagger from her belt. "We do as we are told."

The female warrior raised the knife directly over the echidna's head and swiftly dropped it down. But before it could reach the intended target, Siren's hand suddenly stopped in midair. When Knuckles looked up to his attackers, he found that they held the same expression: shocked and fearful. And without warning, both armored warriors dropped face forward into the dirt, both falling unconscious. And when the heroes looked at their savor, they were surprised to learn that Rogue had come to their rescue. Well, almost everyone was surprised. Knuckles, on the other hand, was furious. Before anyone knew what happened, the hotheaded echidna jumped up, grabbed the bat's neck, and slammed him into the wall."

"This is the thanks I get for saving your life?" Rogue gasped shockingly.

"Cut the innocent act." Knuckles said spitefully. "It was because of you we ended up down here in the first place."

"I will admit that I had a little hand in this." Rogue said lightly; Knuckles scoffed. "But that's changed now. AT first, I was really jealous of you and was willing to do anything to get Rouge. But...." He stared at the ground sadly. "I realized that she was only in love with you."

"Is that so?" Knuckles said softly, slowly releasing his grip.

"I'm supposed to be her best friend and be there for her." Rogue stated empathetically. "I was acting selfish and only thinking about my own feelings. But now I understand where we stand and I want to help. Even if she doesn't return my affections, I will continue to love her and do anything to keep her happy."

That was all the echidna needed to hear. Though he wasn't to happy that he heard Rogue's confessions of his future lover, Knuckles happily released the crimson bat.

"So...now what?" Storm asked.

"We need to hurry to the pinnacle of the mountain." Rogue said urgently.

"What for?" Knuckles asked.

"Siren and Phantom may not have known what the commander was planning," Rogue said seriously. "But I do."

* * *

The final scene alternates to a secret chamber hidden within the peak of the mountain. The chambers was dark and dreary and only contained a giant door made from pure black stone. There was a symbol on the door that looked very much like a ritual circle with a small circular indent within the center of the stone. Rouge and her uncle hovered in midair, facing the door and gazing at the indent intently.

"What is this?" Rouge asked.

"Behind this door is the origin of your legacy." Syix proclaimed. "Your father had planned on using the secrets behind this door to aid him in the return of the Bat Colony's rightful glory. Unfortunately, he died shortly before he could accomplish this deed."

"How does it worked." Rouge asked memorized.

"With this." Syix stated, ripping the locket from his neck and handing it to his niece. "Place this within the hole on the door and place a small amount of your blood upon it. That should break the seal."

"Why can't you do it?" Rouge questioned.

"Only those related to your father's bloodline can open it." Syix said impatiently. "I am only related to him through the marriage of our parents now stop talking and open it!"

The female bat seemed disturbed by her uncle's change in personality and did not question him. She placed the locket within the hole in the door and removed her glove. Look down at her wrist, she reminisced on the fact that she still kept Rogue's matching bracelet all these years. She was getting off track. Using her fangs, Rouge pricked her thumb and smeared a line of blood on the locket. The effects were immediate. The mystic symbol glowed with am ominous light and the cavern shook restlessly as the massive doors slid out of the way.

"At last!" Syix exclaimed. He grabbed Rouge's shoulder and threw her ruthlessly to the floor. "After years of waiting, the Bat Colony's greatest weapon is finally mine!"

"A weapon?" Rouge repeated shockingly. "I thought you said it was my father's legacy."

"It is." Syix grinned menacingly. "But I never said it was a clean legacy."

When the doors were fully opened, the Bat Colony Commander immediately charged into the room. Rouge, feeling a sense of regret, flapped her wings and followed in after him. Much to the female's pleasure, she found her uncle staring at the so-called "Weapon". Syix growled angrily as he stood before a small stone throne with only a skeleton acting as its occupant. Judging from the shape of the skeleton, it was the species as the rest of the Bat Colony.

"So much for your precious weapon." Rouge said smugly.

"This can't be right! There has to be some explanation!" Syix roared furiously, turning back to his beloved niece. "Rynod would never have left behind such a useless corpse! I swear, when I find out..."

"Who are you calling useless?"

The bats were horrified – the voice belonged to neither of them. Without warning, Rouge fell backwards on her behind as she watched her uncle pay the price for his greed. The skeleton had suddenly come to life and stabbed its fangs into the side of Syix's neck, causing great suffering for the Bat Colony leader. The former commander gasped horrifically and his skin started to cling to his bones. At the same time, the skeleton seemed to be growing stronger and developed a new set of piercing-gold eyes within its skull. After finishing its feast, the skeleton tossed Syix aside. Rouge whimpered at the sight of her former uncle – his body was nothing more than an empty shell.

"Ah...so delicious." The skeleton said sophisticatedly, wiping the blood from his jaw. "It must have been centuries since I have been able to satisfy my hunger."

"W-who are you?" Rouge asked fearfully.

"You must have heard of me before in countless legends." The skeleton said deviously. "I am the first bat in existence, the vanguard of the darkness, and devourer of blood." He bowed politely. "I am Alucard the Bat. But you may know me as...."

"Dracula."

**

* * *

**

A shocking new tale develops from a forgotten legacy. Will Knuckles and Rogue work together to defend the one they love? Do they stand a match for the monster of ancient legends? Or will this be the end of the Heroes and the world? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!

**Please, read and review.**


	94. Legends of Blood, Part 3

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Part 3 of 3: The Bat Colony Saga

Chapter Ninety-Four: Legends of Blood, Part 3

The scene returns to the central cavern of the Bat Colony's hidden sanctuary. With the unlikely help of Rogue, the collective Heroes were able to temporarily remove Siren and Phantom from the problem. Knuckles, Charmy, Storm, and Omega sluggishly raced up the stairway with the double-crossing bat – they were still weak from the fight. They finally reached the last step of the stairway, which brought them back to the heart of catacombs. Rogue and the Heroes pressed themselves against the walls in any case that the other members of the Colony were looking for them. But surprisingly, the cavern was silent.

"It's quite in here." Storm murmured; his voice unknowingly echoed. "Wow, that is creepy."

"Is this supposed to be a good or a bad thing?" Knuckles asked the bat.

"It depends on the situation." Rogue said statistically. "In some cases, this would mean that the other soldiers are gone, leaving us with a window of opportunity to escape. But Commander Syix was always the cautious one." His ears twitched, searching for noises. "In case you somehow overcame the Elite Soldiers, the Commander would have put extra reinforcements."

"Then where is everyone?" Knuckles asked.

"Uh...guys?" Charmy called shakily.

The young bee was near the edge of the level, looking down into the pit below. The other members glanced at one another before stepping closer to the edge with the youngest member. Since they were already on the lowest level of the cavern, they had the best view of the pit, but Omega used his eyes to add extra light. At that moment, most of the Heroes wished he hadn't. They had discovered the missing Bat Colony, but it wasn't how they had expected. Nearly every member of the Colony was lying in a pile – their skin clinging to their bones with a look of shock or horror on their expression. Storm and Charmy backed away to the wall with the other looked on in shock.

"W-what happened to them?" Knuckles stammered frightfully.

"Thermal sensors detect no heat from bat species!" Omega informed. "Unit confirms that all creatures are dead!"

"Dead?" Rogue repeated shockingly. "But how? I came by this passageway only ten minutes ago." He hesitantly stared at his fallen brethren. "What could kill at entire colony so fast?"

"Allow me to shed some light."

Rogue and the Heroes jumped backwards at the tone of the voice, feeling a slight chill run down their spines. The group snapped their focus two levels above them, where they spotted a lone survivor. A tall and lean-looking white bat with silky, night-black wings gazed down upon them with his piercing golden eyes. He wore a blood-red cloak around his waist, tied by a violet belt, scarlet gloves with golden ring bracelets, and silver tribal necklace around his neck. While the unknown survivor smirked devilishly at them, it was Knuckles who noticed the character he was carrying behind him.

"Rouge!!" Knuckles yelled.

"So that's her a name." The bat said smoothly; bring his female prisoner into view. "I was wonder what the name of my savior was and now I have an answer." He stoked the female's check softly. "Thank you, Rouge."

"Keep your filthy hands off her!!" Rogue screamed angrily.

"If you insist." The bat shrugged.

Without a hint of concern, the unknown survivor tossed his prisoner into the pit. Because she was unconscious at the moment, the impact of the fall would most likely cause severe damage. Fortunately, Rogue extended his wings and glide beneath his crush to catch her safely in his arms. He drifted backwards to the rest of the group, never lifting his gaze from the cruel beast, and landed back on the floor. He handed Rogue back to Omega before glaring at the unknown bat.

"What was that for?!" Storm screamed. "Who do you think you are?!"

"It's about time someone asked." The bat sighed with relief. "To answer your question, my name is Alucard the Bat."

"A-Alucard?" Rogue repeated; his eye wide in terror.

"You know this guy?" Charmy asked curiously.

"There have been countless legends made of Alucard the Bat." Rogue explained, not allowing his gaze to drift. "They say he was the first leader of the Bat Colony. He conquered many lands within the shadows, both by force and legal action. And within three years time, he had complete control of the world." He shivered slight as he continued. "He was especially known for his cruelty and lust for consuming blood. The humans created a horror symbol called Dracula, who was modeled after Alucard himself."

"You mean this guy is Dracula?!" Storm squeaked, pulling Charmy in front.

"But if that's true, then why is he alive." Knuckles said as he raised his fists.

"There must have been some method to reviving him." Rogue hypothesized. "This must have been the secret weapon that General Rynod hid away all this time."

"He didn't hide me away." Alucard said malevolently. "He discovered me." He chuckled lightly at the confusion on their expressions. "Perhaps to clear up this matter, a little story would be best suited."

"Yay! Story!" Charmy clapped happily; the Heroes sweat-dropped.

"You see, it all began on our former home called Parasiden." Alucard began. "The Highest One and his brother had completed in the creation of the universe. But the only thing that was missing was life to fill it with. So, they united in creating the first eight species: hedgehog, echidna, fox, rabbit, hawk, cat, human, and bat. These first eight gifted with eternal life to watch over the world as it grew and thus were given a proper name: The Immortal Eight."

"_Those species..._" Knuckles thought. "_Is it just a coincidence?_"

The more he thought about it, the more he realized how much the Sonic Heroes resembled the group he was told. Sonic and the other represented the hedgehogs, he and Tikal of the echidnas, Tails and Aura of the foxes, Cream of the rabbit, Jet of the hawk, and Blaze of the cat. Though it was still up for debate, Kadaj and Rai could be considered taking the place of the humans and the position of the bat was definitely filled by Rouge. Was there some twist of fate behind the gathering?

"I was the Immortal Bat of the eight." Alucard continued uninterrupted. "As such, my brothers and sisters were to be used as lab rats for the Highest One's experiment. When he was satisfied, he used us to mold the other species that soon came into existence. But there was a small problem."

"Corruption...." Rogue said shortly.

"Correct." Alucard nodded. "The humans seemed to control a large number of the world populace and natural thought themselves to be superior. The Immortal Human sided with them and defected from the eight. And shortly following, the Immortal Echidna desired power for himself and defected as well. Soon enough, the only ones who hadn't left the Immortal Eight were the Immortal Hedgehog, the Immortal Cat, and the Immortal Rabbit."

"That would explain where Pachacamac and Ix gained their ambition." Knuckles said lowly.

"Logic dictates that the Babylonians were tempted by the original species!" Omega theorized aloud. "And the foxes own hatred and malice were most likely laid the foundation for the creation of the Nine-Tailed Fox!"

"Precisely." Alucard nodded. "The Immortal Hawk only cared about material possessions and the Immortal Fox grew stronger from the malice created from the ongoing wars. And then there was me – I was hungry."

"Hungry?" Charmy repeated strangely.

"The Highest One made a mistake in my creation." Alucard explained. "When I was created, I was given a slight flaws – I was always famished. And now matter how much food I consumed, I would always be hungry. But just as I was about to surrender hope, I tasted the sweet delicacy of blood." He moaned pleasurably; the heroes groaned nervously. "Such a sweet taste – I needed to have more. It was the only thing that could satisfy my hunger. And being immortal, I joined the war and devoured my fill."

"And then you were captured." Rogue said bluntly.

"And by my own son, no less." Alucard growled. "Only those who share my blood can truly kill me. That was the weakness all of the Immortal Eight shared. When this was discovered, all the Immortals were killed by there children. The three that had good intentions requested it. But I was not ready to give up so easily. I fought back long enough until they were forced to seal me away. And then I waited until my true heir returned to free me. And thus, I stand before you today."

"And the Bat Colony?" Knuckles questioned.

"They made an excellent meal." Alucard said, liking his lips. "I took them all out in a matter of minutes. I was planning to save Rouge for desert, which means the rest of you are on the menu."

"Good luck with that!" Knuckles growled.

"Yeah, you'll never beat us!!" Charmy shouted confidently.

"Is that so?" Alucard smirked as he rested his hands on Knuckles and Rogue's shoulder. The heroes were frozen with fear – the malevolent immortal appeared between them. "Well, I do consider it rude to play with my meal, but I can make an exception."

"_That's impossible._" Rogue thought fearfully. "_I didn't even see him move._"

"_I've never felt such killer intent._" Knuckles shivered. "_Not even Nazo gives off this kind of evil._"

Both heroes could distinctively hear Alucard's menacing hisses close to their ears, paralyzing them in their place. The Immortal Bat looked between the two, trying to decide who would be his first victim. Eventually, he came to the decision to make Rogue his next target. Alucard exposed his sharpened fangs beneath his maw and moved closer to the remaining member of his species before he heard something click. And before he even had a chance to look back, the Immortal Bat was blasted forward and tossed into the pit below. A sense of relief washed over the two as they both looked back to Omega – who was holding both turrets to where Alucard once stood – Rouge rested against the wall.

"That...was...close." Rogue panted heavily; sweat dripped from his forehead.

"I've never been so close to death before." Knuckles said, equally shaken. "Thanks for the help, Omega."

"My programming prevents me from experiencing fear!" Omega stated, reloading his guns. "The situation calls for my inclusion for I cannot be controlled by emotions!"

"You are an interesting one." Alucard said as he landed on the robot's back. "I must say, it has been centuries since anyone has come that close to injuring me. And seeing as how I cannot instill fear in your heart, you'll have to be dealt with."

The vampire immortal exposed his pointed fangs and snapped them closed on Omega's shoulder. On normal occasions, Alucard's fangs have been known to pierce steel armor. But Omega's entire structure was made from reinforced titanium, making it impossible for the dark immortal to make a scratch. And by the time Alucard had realized this; Storm had broken from his frozen state and slammed his fist into the bat's cheek. The malevolent immortal was tossed backwards into the wall, crushing the rocky surface behind him.

"_Hmm...these infantile trespassers are more resourceful than I had imagined._" Alucard mused, pulling himself out of the stone wall. "_Or perhaps I'm not taking them seriously enough._"

"How do you like that, Mr. vampire guy?!" Charmy mocked lamely. "Yeah, we're gonna kick your butt!"

"Charmy, don't insult the immortal murderer." Knuckles said warningly.

"Why not?" Charmy asked.

"Because you might live longer if you don't."

The young bee turned and stiffened – Alucard was directly in front of him.

* * *

The scene alternates to the base of the mountain, close to the lakeshore where the Heroes has started. With a powerful bang, the mountainside exploded in a shower of dust and dirt. Storm and Rogue were spotted flying backwards into the trees while Knuckles and Omega landed with their backs against the ground. Each of the latter two was carrying someone – Omega with Rouge and Knuckles with Charmy. The female bat was still out cold and Charmy seemed to have passed out in fright. Shaking his head disappointedly, the crimson echidna hung the bee out of sight so that he wouldn't be in the way.

"Everyone all right?!" Knuckles called.

"All systems operational!" mega proclaimed, resting Rouge against a tree. "Subject Rouge seems to be safe from any harm."

"Your bird friend is all right, too." Rogue stated as he landed between the two. "Unfortunately, he hit his head on a rock and seems to have blacked out. I hid him in a bush to keep him safe from attack."

"But is anyone really safe?" Alucard called from within the cave. "After all, my hunger has yet to be satisfied."

"Well, good luck with that." Rogue smirked, much to Knuckles confusion. "Everyone knows that vampires can't stand sunlight. The moment you step outside, this area will be lit with fireworks."

There was a long pause with the Heroes watching the Immortal Bat victoriously. Everyone knew the legends and with the sun at its highest point of the day, there was no way Alucard could reach them. But the malevolent immortal merely smirked at their feeble attempts. Slowly, Alucard stepped out the hole and exposed himself fully into the view of the light. But instead of dying at that instant, Alucard remained untouched.

"Uh...why isn't he blowing up?" Knuckles asked nervously.

"You should know better than to believe those silly little myths." Alucard chuckled darkly. "Over the millennia, the truth has been warped by legends and superstitions."

"So sunlight does not affect target!" Omega stated, clicking his rifle.

"The sun is a prominent gift to the world." Alucard said. "It nourishes all things...even evil."

And before the Heroes could blink, Alucard appeared between Rogue and Knuckles with his hands pressed against their necks. He slowly began to increase the pressure until his heightened sense of hearing caught a familiar series of clicks. As Omega unloaded his cargo, the Immortal Bat released his prisoners and jumped into the air. Knuckles and Rogue quickly ducked to the side to avoid getting caught in the middle of Omega's range. Speaking of whom, the red robot was shooting rapidly across the air, hoping to knock Alucard out of the sky. Unfortunately, the Immortal Bat's advanced speed allowed him to maneuver past the rapid-fire bullets and land behind the titanium colossus. Omega tried turning, but Alucard grabbed the robot's arm and, with a great deal of strength, tossed him into the mountainside. The metallic giant remained trapped in the rocky wall – his body sparking occasionally.

"Systems...failing..." Omega stated weakly. "Activating....sleep...mode..."

"Well, now that he's out of the way." Alucard said smoothly, watching the robot go offline. "I can deal with you two miscreants."

"Think we can take him?" Knuckles asked hopefully.

"Against the first of our kind and an immortal, no less?" Rogue responded sarcastically. "Sure, I think we have a shot."

"There's no need to be rude." Knuckles muttered.

"You pathetic insects amuse me to no end." Alucard chuckled darkly. As he stepped closer to the defensive warriors, his foot kicked against something soft. Looking down, he spotted the unconscious Rouge resting against a rock. "Oh, I had forgotten about her. My little savior is catching up on her well deserved sleep. And once I'm done with you, it will be eternal."

"Stay away from her!!" Rogue yelled angrily. Alucard watched amusingly as the crimson warrior skipped into the air, surrounded his body within his wings. The elite twisted his body towards his enemy, shouting. "**Screw Wing!!**"

The Immortal Bat did not seem concerned by the assault and allowed the attack to pierce his chest. But much to the Elite's surprise, Alucard's body seemed to be harder than steel and resist his attack completely. While unintentionally releasing his signature technique, Rogue left himself wide open for the Immortal Bat to strike. Alucard raised his foot and jabbed it into Rogue's chest, sending him flailing into the trees. And while the Immortal Bat was smirking victoriously at his fallen enemy, he suddenly realized that the atmosphere began to heat up rapidly. Alucard quickly snapped his attention downwards, discovering a circle of fire surrounding him. His eyes followed the trail and ended at Knuckles' fists, which were pressed into the ground.

"The Living Flames." Alucard said knowledgably. "The Immortal Echidna was famous for the creation of this technique. Seeing that you know it, you must be a descendent of his." He scowled angrily. "I never liked him much."

"Then you are definitely not going to like this!" Knuckles yelled, clapping his hands together. Upon his command, the circle of flames jumped up and rained down upon the unsuspecting bat. "Yes! I finally got him!!"

"Got who?"

The echidna warrior froze. He didn't need to look to know that Alucard was directly behind him, most likely unharmed. Was there any way to stop this guy? Did he have no weakness? All these questions remained unanswered and the Immortal Bat grew impatient. Alucard raised his claws for the final strike when he was interrupted by and unlikely duo. A green blur emerged from the ground and slammed into Alucard's chin, sending him flying into the air. There was a sudden shriek of noise and the bat's body was shot across the air and splashed into the nearby lake. Rogue weakly pushed to his knees, staring in shock at the duo. Siren and Phantom, still in their broken armor, helped their leader to his feet.

"Siren? Phantom?" Rogue gaped amazingly.

"Rogue, what happened?" Siren questioned quickly. "Where are Commander Syix and the rest of the Bat Colony?"

"They're dead." Rogue said bluntly. "Each and every one of them was consumed by Alucard."

"That bastard!" Phantom shouted angrily. "I'll show him not to mess with the Bat Colony!"

"You don't understand." Rogue said hopelessly. "We are dealing with a real live immortal. The longer you two stay here, the better chance he has of killing you both."

"You never did pay attention." Siren smirked. "When we accepted you as our leader, we agreed to follow you to the end. And if this truly is our last battle, we will die as true warriors...and true friends."

"Guys..." Rogue murmured emotionally.

"My...what a touching scene." Knuckles and the bat trio turned on their heels as Alucard slowly made his way to shore. "If I had a heart, I would shed a tear of happiness for such loyalty. Fortunately....I don't."

What happened next was a mere blur.

"_Where am I? What happened? And what's with all the noise?_"

Slowly regaining consciousness, Rouge slowly regained her bearings. The first thing she noticed was how bright it was for a dark and barren cavern. His blurry vision soon cleared enough to realize that she was staring into the sky with the sun shining down upon her. Then everything came back to her piece by piece: the locket, the door, Syix, Dracula. Everything was suddenly coming back to her in a storm of memories.

"Knuckles!" Rouge screamed suddenly. "What am I doing here? Where's Dracula?"

"I'll be with you in a moment, dear."

She nearly gave herself a whiplash turning her head to the voice. She found Alucard, unfortunately standing in the center of a ring of bodies. No one looked dead, but was badly beaten. The bat trio winced and groaned painfully from their grueling defeat and Knuckles was being lifted off the ground by his dreadlocks. Looking highly amused, the Immortal Bat released his prey to the ground, placing his foot on the echidna's head.

"I must give you some credit." Alucard said sinisterly. "You certainly know how to choose your friends and acquaintances. The echidna and the red brat were especially difficult to manage."

"What do you want?" Rouge questioned, shakily standing up.

"What I've wanted for thousands of years." Alucard grimaced. "A cure for this insatiable hunger. Until that joyous day when I do discover it, I must feast on the life of those who dare to cross my path." He increased the pressure in his foot, pushing Knuckles further into the dirt. "My appetite is starting to return. Perhaps I deserve a treat for my battle."

"Don't you dare touch him." Rouge hissed angrily.

"And what, might I ask, do you plan to do?" Alucard smirked.

The Immortal Bat hissed hungrily as he lowered himself closer to the echidna's neck – his fangs exposed. But before he could dine on the blood of the youth, an unknown forced smashed against his cheek and tossed him into the trees, which snapped in half. Alucard quickly recovered from the shock and moved to a kneeling position, finding Rouge in place of where he once stood. The Immortal Bat glared menacingly at the interloper when he felt something warm run down his cheek. He brushed his finger across and examined the contents – it was his blood.

"_Of course._" Alucard thought. "_This girl is my direct descendent. Only those who share my blood are able to kill me. I should kill her quickly before she discovers this._"

"What's the manner, hun?" Rouge taunted. "Don't want to dance anymore."

"Actually..." Alucard said; he appeared behind the female. "I was just looking for the right moment."

If the Immortal Bat had expected to make a surprise attack, he was sadly disappointed. Unlike his previous targets, Rouge could spot him easy and knocked his hand away with a swipe of her leg. Alucard, being caught off guard by this development, was forced to retreat backwards as his young heir sent a barrage of powerful kicks. Unfortunately, Alucard was able to find a gap in Rouge's assault and drove his fist forward into the bat's shoulder. The feminine thief sided backwards, clutching her shoulder, which had surprisingly gone numb. In the one moment Rouge had managed to take her eyes off her target, the Immortal Bat jumped ahead and clutched his descendant's head in his hands. In response to this, Rouge grabbed the man's wrist, preventing him from closing his hand over her skull. It was a contest of will.

"You're very difficult to deal with." Alucard sneered. "That only proves that you are my flesh and blood."

"I am nothing like you." Rouge hissed.

"Perhaps." Alucard nodded. "Unlike me, you allow emotions to drive you. You are restricted by feeble emotions such as love and fear. Such a sad fate." He raised his free hand, drawing in backwards as a fist. "In the right hands, you would have been a useful weapon. But your time has passed."

With that being said, the Immortal Bat drilled his fist directly for Rouge's forehead. But the moment he did, Rouge found a small window of opportunity. Alucard's other hand unconsciously slackened its grip, allowing the feminine thief to shake it off and avoid being killed. At the moment her ancestor's hand passed by her, she did the one thing that came to her mine – she bit him. Rouge stabbed her own fangs into Alucard's arm, causing the bat to shriek in pain. All of a sudden, the skin on Alucard's arm began to collapse and cling to the bone within. Alarmed by this, the Immortal Bat used his free hand and smacked her across the face to force her release. Alucard staggered backwards, staring at the useless limb that was once his arm. He glared back at his heir when he noticed the differences from the experience: blood dripped from her mouth and her eyes were piercing gold.

Ah, now you see the truth." Alucard chuckled wickedly. "Only further proof that you are the one that will carry on my legacy."

"I already told you." Rouge growled. "I am nothing like you."

"Why deny it any longer?" Alucard questioned. "The fact that you have absorbed my blood, the sole trait that symbolizes my power, proves that you are mine. Stop fighting your heritage and join me. Together, we could hone your powers. You will have all that you desire."

"I already have what I desire." Rouge stated.

"What?" Alucard questioned.

"I have lot of good friends..." Rouge said, thinking of the Sonic Heroes. Her gaze roamed over to Rogue and the fallen warriors. "I found my best friend and my home..." Her eyes wandered to Knuckles, drawing an appreciative smile. "And someone who loves me truly. So whatever you offer, I'm not buying."

"Stop being a fool!" Alucard hissed.

"You're the fool!!" Rouge exclaimed. "I told you before, I am nothing like you!!"

At the moment, her eyes returned to the regular aqua color. Knowing that he had failed to persuade her, the Immortal Bat predicted that the only thing left to do was kill her off. Alucard zoomed across the field and swiped at Rouge's neck, only to discover that she was no longer there. A large winged shadow was cast over him, drawing the forsaken Immortal into a stance of fear as he stared up. Rouge hovered over head with her foot held forward aimed to strike down the man who had caused her so much grief. The feminine thief dived forward, spinning like a top for her signature attack.

"**Screw Kick!!**"

Alucard was left frozen in a state of terror, only able to watch as his descendent pierced through his chest and escaped through his back. Rouge landed on her feet, her entire body soaked in the Immortal's blood. His expression unchanged, Alucard dropped to his knees and slowly dissolved to dust – time had finally caught up with him. But before he disappeared entirely, he uttered his last words to the world.

"Damn you, wench..."

After nearly an hour of recovery, the group had finally gathered together to say their final good byes. Knuckles and Rogue were greatly shocked to learn that Rouge had beaten Alucard all by herself. They unknowingly slipped a comment regarding women as the weaker sex – Siren and Rouge made sure they remembered to hold their tongues. Omega, Storm, and Charmy stood behind Rouge and Knuckles as they spoke to the departing bat trio. Before separating, Knuckles handed Rogue a circular communicator with the initials 'S.H.' on the face.

"What's this?" Rogue asked.

"Though I really don't like you very much." Knuckles said gruffly, earning a smack from his fiancé. "I consider you all valuable warriors. So, I think you deserve to join the Sonic Heroes."

"What are you guys going to do now?" Storm asked.

"We're the last of our kind." Siren said solemnly. "Since we are no longer under the authority of General Rynod or Commander Syix, we feel that we should explore the world." She blushed lightly, gazing admirably at Rogue. "Besides, we swore to follow our leader to the end."

"You sure you don't want to come with us, Mistress Rouge?" Phantom asked.

"Sorry, hun." Rouge winked. "I've already got plans. But you guys will be sure to attend the wedding right?"

"We'll be there, but I won't like it." Rogue grumbled.

Rogue giggled at her best friend's pouting. She decided to give him a little parting gift and kissed the bat's cheek lightly – Siren didn't seem too pleased with Rouge anymore. While Rogue recovered from the shock of the experience, he noticed that Knuckles had held out his fist, not as an opponent, but as a sign of friendship. Both rivals of love smirked at one another and Rogue tapped his own fist against the echidna's. This was the beginning of a new day.

**

* * *

**

The bonds of family are only determined by cherishing one another. Is this truly the end of the Bat Colony? Will Rogue and the others return one day? And what lies ahead for Knuckles and Rouge? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!

**Please, read and review.**


	95. Master of the Emerlds, Part 1

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Part 1 of 5 of the Zeenint Saga

Chapter Ninety-Five: Master of the Emeralds, Part 1

The world was dark and empty, not a single form of life to be seen. But if one were to look deeper, they would see the true horrors that lie within the shining surface of the Master Emerald. An unknown shape was curled within the endless depths of the powerful gem, remaining motionless for several centuries. Hundreds of holographic screens drifted around the creature's body in the shape of a sphere, each presenting a different image.

_Sonic held out his right hand, summoning a mass amount of blue Chaos Energy. He compressed the powerful current into a spherical form._

_Metal gripped his right wrist with his left, collecting his power into his hand. A few sparks began to crackle from the metal until electricity completely coated his claw._

_Silver's body gained a momentary glow and swung his arm, releasing the energy into a corkscrew._

_Shadow's fur began to rise as his body was suddenly overcome by a fiendish red glow. The hedgehog cackled in a way similar to Black Doom and released his pent up energy into a glowing dome._

_Nazo's naturally silver body transformed into deep-blood-red with his eyes changing to a menacing yellow. He gained two more quills with his spines forming the shape of an 'X' and his shoes became black/gold boots._

_Mega Sonic compressed a sphere of blue energy into his palm, flying through the sky like a shooting star. Before releasing the energy, the winds transformed to a golden color with a white swirl in the center._

"Yes..." The creature hissed menacingly. "Fight...kill...destroy. As I watch you battle till your heart's content, you remain completely unaware of my ever-growing power." His eyes wandered over to the vision of Mega Sonic. "You were especially helpful, Sonic the Hedgehog. Now I can complete what I started millenniums ago."

* * *

The scene alternates to the Master Emerald shrine on Angel Island, which was once again acting as the center of a special event. With only four days left until the wedding, Knuckles had asked for the assistance of Tikal and Blue to help finish the arrangements. The echidna knew this was going to turn out to be a good day since the real Chaos had actually pulled himself from the Master Emerald to help with the occasion. Speaking of the powerful gem, the Master Emerald was placed upon its old resting point under Chaos' suggestion. Unfortunately, everyone was too busy to notice a small crack forming from the surface.

"Why exactly are you in charge again?" Blue asked the echidna while carrying two stacks of tables.

"Because I have to make sure everything is perfect." Knuckles said gruffly, ripping weeds away from the shrine. "If everything isn't perfect, Rouge won't be happy. And if Rouge isn't happy, we all pay."

"Ugh....I see you point." Blue shivered.

"I think it's romantic." Tikal smiled happily. Chaos was helping her being fitted for her ceremonial garb, which she would wear as priestess for the wedding. "I think it's sweet that someone would go so far for the one they love."

"I think it's romantic, too." Blue said hopefully, unknowing dropping the tables. "Aw, man!"

Tikal laughed amusingly as the knuckleheaded echidna screamed himself hoarse at the klutzy clone. But the original Chaos was suddenly distracted. He could feel a powerful energy radiating from.....the Master Emerald?

"_This power..._" Chaos thought. "_I've only felt this kind of evil once before. Back when..._" His emerald-green were wide in terror. "_No! He can't be back!_"

"Chaos, what's wrong?" Tikal asked once noticing her disturbed friend.

But her question was instantly answered when the crack of the Master Emerald expanded over the surface with a loud crunch. All the gathered heroes shot their attention to the ultimate gem as its powerful glimmer became dull and grey. Then it happened. The Master Emerald exploded with a powerful gust of air, sending the shards flying across the field. Blue and Chaos used their shape shifting powers together to form a wall between the shards and their friends. Tikal stood behind Knuckles fearfully as the warrior echidna ignited his fists in the signature Living Flames. As the dust began to settle, a shadowed figure slowly made his way down the steps. He stopped halfway before he noticed the other occupants.

"Well, this is certainly an unexpected reunion." The shadow chuckled darkly.

"What are you talking about?" Knuckles growled. "Who the hell are you?"

"Hmph! How insulting." The shadow said snidely, looking to Chaos. "I am especially surprised that you haven't told them about me, Stream?"

"_Stream?_" Tikal thought, gazing at her friend. "_Sonic's little brother?_"

"_I had hoped I would never see you again..._" Chaos said in his own language. "_Zeenint._"

A sharp breeze flowed by, throwing away the remaining dust cloud. The shadow was revealed to be an emerald-green hedgehog with five pointed quills and a blue opal in his forehead, wearing white gloves with black/white shoes. The most noticeable feature of this new character was the black scar that ran diagonally across his chest.

"You know him, Chaos?" Tikal asked meekly.

"_I knew him before I had met you._" Chaos replied, bring up his claws. "_And now, I'm going to make sure this is the last time we meet._"

"Oh, don't worry." Zeenint smirked. "I hold no pleasure in seeing your disfigured face any longer."

The aquatic guardian narrowed his eyes and charged ahead to the stairway of the emerald shrine. Chaos transformed his arms into thin blades of water, almost five feet from his target. But unfortunately, with a snap of the hedgehog's fingers, the battle was short-lived.

* * *

Three short days passed and the whole world was suddenly out of order. Sonic the Hedgehog and Rouge the Bat were traveling through the forest towards the Mystic Ruins on course for Angel Island. The speedy hedgehog was carrying a handheld receiver in his hands and held it out for both of them to listen. Apparently, they had tuned in one a news report that only confirmed their fears.

"_As of yesterday, Christmas Island was complete destroyed._" The reporter announced. "_Eye witness accounts say a flash of green light appeared before the island were split into small fragments. This could very well be related to the destruction of Emerald Town, Windy Valley, Red Canyon, Pumpkin Hill, Cryptic Castle, and Twinkle Park._

"Amy isn't going to like that." Sonic joked.

"Shush!" Rouge commanded sternly.

"_On a lighter note..._" The report continued. "_Like all the previous mention places, there were no casualties. Many people have claimed to see a hedgehog attacking the island moments before its destruction. Witnesses have confirmed that it is no the leader of the Dark Rulers, Nazo, as many would believe._"

"That definitely doesn't sound like Nazo." Sonic commented as he dived through the trees. "If he was going to destroy something, he would be sure to know that no one was left."

"It's definitely strange." Rouge nodded. "All those places were destroyed, but no one died. But at least we were able to make a connection between them: all of those places were holding one of the Chaos Emeralds."

"So whoever this guy is, he's looking to do some serious damage." Sonic said seriously; Rouge nodded. "If that's the case, only two questions come to mind. Why are we the only ones working on this and why are we headed for Angel Island?"

"You heard Shadow." Rouge sighed. "With all the trouble going on, we had to split up the teams into separate divisions to make up for the loss of national security. We even had to call in the extra members to help out."

You mean the Tournament Champions, Bat Trio, and Kadaj." Sonic whistled impressively. "Wow, we must be in deep trouble."

"And if you think about it, Angel Island is the next stop on this guy's list." Rogue continued. "If he's collecting the Chaos Emeralds, you know he's going to want the Master Emerald, too."

"That's what I thought at first as well."

Sonic and Rouge finally breached the forest and landed in the center of the ancient Mystic Ruins. Crumbled, moss covered structures surrounded them with the jungle slowly eating away at the once-great civilization. There were several statues and murals that depicted the echidna's legacy – some of which was recovered in earlier years. And standing at the roof of the largest temple was none other than Metal Sonic, the cobalt hedgehog's greatest rival. The two Heroes moved into position for battle until the metallic clones jumped and landed securely before them.

"Metal?!" Sonic exclaimed. "What are you doing here?!"

"Relax." Metal said coolly. "I have not come here to fight. In fact, I believe we are all in the same boat."

"What are you talking about?" Rouge questioned.

"You think it's possible to keep a situation like this silent?" Metal stated. "Just like you, I suspected that someone may have been attempting to steal the Master Emerald along with its lesser counterparts. But when I got there...I found something I did not predict."

"What?" Rouge asked worried.

"The Master Emerald was completely destroyed." Metal proclaimed swiftly.

"WHAT?!" The heroes screamed shockingly.

"I was just as surprised as you are." Metal said calmly.

"How could that have happened?" Rouge asked. "Where's Knuckles and Blue?"

"When I first arrived there, there were signs of a fight." Metal explained. "But neither the echidna nor the clone were anywhere to be seen. And on top of that, my sensors picked up a faint trail of leaking Chaos Energy. I followed that trail for the past three days through the destruction and ended up back here."

"But why were you...?" Sonic began.

"Wait a minute." Rouge interrupted. "You said you followed the trail and ended up here. Then does that mean...?"

"Surprise!!"

A thin beam of green light struck the ground between the group and formed into a powerful explosion that pushed everyone back. While Sonic and Metal landed safely on their feet, Rouge dropped unceremoniously into a pile of bushes. The dust cloud parted to reveal Zeenint standing in the center of a small crater with the seven Chaos Emeralds floating over his head.

"Sorry, did I come at a bad time." Zeenint chuckled menacingly.

"So you're the guys whose been running around causing trouble." Sonic glared pointedly. "Who are you?"

"I don't think there is any point talking to the dead." Zeenint said mockingly; a throbbing vein appeared on Sonic's forehead. "But I might inquire as to your purpose for trespassing on my land."

"You're land!" Rouge scowled. "This is Knuckles' homeland! You're the one trespassing!"

"Knuckles..." Zeenint said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "Knuckles....oh, you mean that hot-blooded echidna. I think my possession of his home is the least of his worries at the moment."

"What how you done with him?" Rouge growled.

The former master of Parasiden merely grinned vindictively as he reached under his glove and pulled out four small fragments. Though they were dull and grey, the gathered audience instantly recognized them as shards of the Master Emerald. Metal's earlier statement had been confirmed. And within the depths of the emerald shards, the Heroes were shocked to discover not only Knuckles, but Tikal, Blue, Chaos were trapped inside each fragment. They appeared to pounding against the surface, trying their hardest to break loose.

"_So this is him..._" Metal thought. "_The true power behind the Master Emerald, as told in Nazo's memories. I never once thought I would one day actually meet Zeenint._"

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Rouge screamed furiously.

"Or else what?" Zeenint challenged.

Without warning, the feminine thief skipped off the ground and dived for the emerald hedgehog. Using the combination of strength and speed she inherited from Alucard, Rouge swung her leg around and slammed against Zeenint's neck. Against a normal person, such a crushing blow would have resulted in instant death. But Zeenint didn't even flinch and pocketed the emerald shards in his glove. Surprised that her attack had failed, the winged warrior hovered off the ground and repeatedly thrashed her feet against the hedgehog's body. But once again, the effort proved to be in vein as the former master remained in place, watching her amusingly. But eventually, he grew bored and slapped away her next attack, throwing the bat off balance. With his opponent caught off guard, Zeenint took the opportunity to drive his fist into her gut. Blood gushed from Rouge's mouth and she was shot backwards towards one of the echidna statues. Fortunately for her, Sonic appeared just in time and caught her before she could make contact.

"Is she ok?" Sonic asked as Metal landed besides him.

"My scanners show that she has been severally injured." Metal proclaimed. "Her skin has been badly bruised, three of her bones have been fractured, and I believe one of his internal organs have ruptured." Sonic winced as the robotic clone continued. "But I see no signs of her dying anytime soon. She'll be fine for the moment."

"Man, this guy was able to do all that with one punch." Sonic hissed, glancing at the hedgehog. "Who is he?"

"If we don't take him out soon, you won't live long enough to know." Metal stated.

"You have a plan?" Sonic asked.

"I hate to say this, but we need to work together." Metal said grudgedly.

"Aw, you do care about us." Sonic said jokingly.

"Don't make me regret it." Metal growled.

Once making Rouge was safely away from the battle, Metal and Sonic stood across from Zeenint. The emerald hedgehog watched the blue twins with his brow raised, wondering what plan they had up their sleeve. Without warning, Sonic and Metal ran in opposite direction, forming a circle around the former master. Zeenint smiled impressively, his eyes moving back and forth as to locate them.

"_Just as I suspected._" Zeenint thought. "_My eyes can't keep up with them. The only way for sure that I would be able to counterattack them is if they provide an opening. Let's see how this goes._"

Without Zeenint's eyes able to follow them, the two warriors secretly began charging up for their next attack. Sonic held out his right hand as he called a large amount of blue Chaos Energy. Once gathering the necessary power, he compacted the energy into a small sphere. Equally, Metal grabbed his right wrist with his left claw, steadying it as he drew power from the atmosphere. In less than a few seconds, the metallic doppelganger's entire claw was coated in a field of lightning. With both attacked ready, the blue duo suddenly stopped in their tracks and jumped towards the center with their hand held forward. Zeenint, who was familiar with these tactics, merely smirked.

"**Sonic Wind!!**" Sonic called.

"**Metal Surge!!**" Metal roared.

"_Pathetic._" Zeenint thought.

Time seemed to have slowed to a halt. As Sonic and Metal attacked from either side, the emerald master kicked off the ground and flipped backwards into the air. The cobalt duo watched shockingly as their attacks slowly passed under their target. But the problems were only just beginning. With still hovering in mid-flip, Zeenint reached down and grabbed each of their wrists, forcing them to continue forward. Under his command, the Sonic Wind struck Metal in his chest while the Metal Surge pierced through Sonic's shoulder. Both warriors hissed in pain, causing Zeenint's grin to spread.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" Zeenint said mockingly as he landed. "If I were a considerate guy, I would let you guys off the hook." He laughed wickedly. "It's a good thing I'm not considerate."

The formed master of Parasiden continued to press the attack into the two warriors, who were scream bloody murder. They had tried to several minutes to dispel their attacks, but they weren't acting upon their wishes. It was then that Metal theorized that Zeenint was supplying the energy, making them more powerful than ever. Sonic could slowly feel his body going numb and guessed that he would be dead in less than a minute. Then the pain stopped. Like the Cobalt twins, Zeenint was surprised to see that both attacks had abruptly ended at the appearance of someone he despised greatly. Nazo had appeared in front of his former master – both his hands cutting off the flow of power between the two warriors.

"Well, isn't this a surprise." Zeenint commented lightly. "The old order is coming back."

"Master Zeenint..." Nazo said slowly. "How did you escape?"

"Well, that is a long tale." Zeenint said smoothly. The former master released Sonic and Metal, throwing them in opposite directions. "I guess when it comes down to it; I owe it all to you and your brother."

"My brother?" Nazo repeated, glancing hesitantly to Sonic. "What does he have to do with anything?"

"Everything, actually." Zeenint shrugged. "Oh, the cruel irony. The one who imprisoned me within that tomb was the one who helped me escape."

"Then I will be the one to put you back." Nazo glared, clasping his hands together.

"Do you think you possess the kind of power to defeat me?" Zeenint questioned.

"Why don't you have a look for yourself?" Nazo sneered.

The atmospheric temperature dropped suddenly, sending chills even down Metal's steel spine. Zeenint quickly jumped backwards as the cold air began to freeze over the area surrounding the Dark Rulers. Nazo's hands were reshaped into crystal claws, his feet became sharp and pointed, and his eyes transformed into wide green orbs. The God of Darkness transmutated his body from living flesh to chilling ice. Nazo had once again released his Guardian persona.

"It's nice to see a familiar face." Zeenint said confidently. "But you should recall that it was you who once served me, Eise. Despite your betrayal, I might be willing to give you another chance."

"You no longer hold power over me, Zeenint." Nazo said coldly. "I have become must stronger than last time we battle."

"Why don't you come over here and prove it." Zeenint said.

The Dark Ruler was only too glad to be given the chance. In an unexpected burst of speed, Nazo zipped across the field and drilled his frozen fist in Zeenint's cheek. The emerald master was caught completely by surprise and was flung through that and air through the wall of a crumbling building. The weakened structure collapsed over the former master as Nazo stood ready for anything. Metal, who was clutching the hole in his chest, weakly moved closer to Sonic, who was holding his bleeding shoulder.

"What just happened?" Metal question spitefully.

"Nazo's Guardian Form is as powerful as his Hell Form." Sonic answered swiftly, never taking his eyes from the battle. "In other words, this freak show is facing off against a Super Form. He's screwed."

"_But if Nazo's memories prove true..._" Metal thought. "_Then this is only just the beginning._"

Back to the battle, Nazo claws were extended in preparation for his former master. The debris of the fallen home shifted slightly before Zeenint emerged from the pile, throwing the wall of his head. Despite taking a critical blow, Zeenint presented no mark on his face from when the attack struck. The former master scowled at the Ice Guardian as he stood several feet away from his former servant.

"That was very impressive." Zeenint nodded. "There has only two occasions in my lifetime when someone had actually struck me that hard." He ran his fingers across his scar. "The first time was when I received this from that water swordsman."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Nazo stated.

"Oh, that's right." Nazo shook. "He erased himself from existence in order to revive Chaos. Only those who are truly powerful to defy the laws of nature are able to remember. That only proves how inferior you have become."

"Silence!" Nazo snapped hatefully, clasping his claws together. "You know nothing of my power! Let me show you what happens when you mess with the God of Darkness!" The Ice Guardian slammed his claws to the ground, forcing them below the dirt. "**Ice Chaos: Frozen Tundra!!**"

Without warning, the surrounding environment transformed into a frozen wasteland. The tree wilted in a second, the ground and structures were covered in sleet, and all nearby water sources were completely frozen over. Zeenint, who had remember Nazo's previous experience as a guardian, had never seen him transform the environment so dramatically. Sonic could see his own breathe and the unconscious Rouge gave an involuntary shiver.

"Even though I am truly impressed, it's not much." Zeenint shrugged. "So do you plan to freeze me to death?"

"I prefer the direct approach." Nazo said sinisterly, pressing his claw to the frozen dirt. "**Ice Chaos: Frozen Spear Pillars!!**"

The Earth gave a sudden shudder, forcing the emerald master to remain on guard. The without warning, thousands of crystal ice spikes ripped through the planet crust within a five mile radius of Zeenint's position. While the emerald hedgehog vanished from sight, Metal and Sonic jumped away as quick as possible to avoid being skewered. The cobalt hedgehog had to take a slight detour to rescue Rouge from the same situation. After a few short moments, the attack finally ended. Metal was spotted atop one of the ice pillars While Sonic remained the closest to Nazo – he set Rouge safely aside. The cobalt hedgehog watched his frozen comrade between the frozen spikes and noticed the former Guardian breathing heavily.

"_That attack must have taken a real toll on him._" Sonic thought. "_Then again, I can see why. Let's just hope he nailed his target._"

"I...can't...believe it." Nazo panted tiredly. "I...actually...got him."

"Got who?"

The Ice Guardian stiffened fearfully. Zeenint appeared behind his former subordinate, presenting only a scratch on his cheek after surviving the attack. Touching the blood mark, the emerald hedgehog learned that the right side of his face had gone momentarily numb.

"So that was your plan." Zeenint said impressively. "If your attack had somehow missed, you would be sure to at least make sure that they wouldn't be able to move. That way, you would move in for the final strike." He placed his hand on the Guardian's shoulder, feeling him flinch at his touch. "If you had this kind of power when you were in my service, you would have done better than Aero."

"Don't mention my brother's name." Nazo growled.

The emerald hedgehog merely shrugged. Before the former Guardian could react, Zeenint swiped his hand across Nazo's torso, separating him into two parts. Sonic knew that Nazo was still alive, but the fact that he was defeated so easily disturbed him.

"_This is bad._" Sonic thought hesitantly. "_Nazo's Guardian Form is just as strong as any Super Form. If this guy could take him out in less than a minute, we've got nothing left....well, almost nothing..._"

_

* * *

_

---Flashback---

The Sonic Heroes were on their way back hope after the incident with Naga and the Armageddon. Though he had a week to rest, Sonic still felt sore from the battle. It must have come from using the Mega Form so suddenly. The cobalt hedgehog was sleeping on the deck of the cruise ship, repeating the flow of the battle in his mind. Never before had Sonic felt immortal – he was truly invincible. But unfortunately, his dreams were punctured by a familiar voice.

"_Sonic..._"

"Wha...?" Sonic slurred sleepily.

"_Open your eyes, child._"

The cobalt hedgehog slowly crept his eyes open for a moment until the snapped to full attention. The blue sky and salty sea had vanished and were replaced with an endless depth of darkness. But what really attracted the hedgehog's attention was the second creature occupying the space. Tails and Aura's father, Master Nyrox, sat pleasantly on an unseen floor while drink what Sonic recognized as green tea.

"Blegh!" Nyrox moaned disappointedly. "Still not as good as King's."

"Nyrox..." Sonic said frightfully. "What are you doing here? Aren't you..."

"Dead?" Nyrox finished. "Yes, I am. But before I pass on completely, I need to talk to you about the Mega Form."

"Aw, it was great!" Sonic cheered. "Did you see me take down that Armageddon?! I was totally unstoppable! I can't wait to see the look on Nazo's face when I use it on him!"

"That's what I came to warn you about." Nyrox sighed. "Sonic...you are forbidden to use the Mega Form again."

"Say what?!" Sonic exclaimed. "What for?!"

"The Mega Form provides you with the strength of a god, that is true." Nyrox stated wisely. "But there is one major flaw in the form. Because of its unstable energy, it draws power from the user's life force, slowly drain their lifespan." He watched the hedgehog's expression, which had turned to fear. "Just with that one battle alone, you lost six years of your life."

"So...what?" Sonic asked. "I can't use it again?"

"I can teach you how to summon the Mega Form upon command." Nyrox answered. "But before that, you must understand one thing. You must not use the Mega Form unless two conditions are met."

"Two conditions?" Sonic repeated.

"The first condition – use it only when there is no other option." Nyrox said, holding up his fingers as he counted down. "And the second condition is the most important. Only use this form to..."

"Only used the form to..." Sonic nodded slowly.

---_End Flashback---_

* * *

Back on the battlefield, Nazo was trying his hardest to pull himself back together. But every time the Ice Guardian tried to rebuild his missing legs, Zeenint would always shatter them for mere amusement. Eventually, Nazo became too tired to move even his own claws – his earlier attacks had fully drained him. Sensing his weakness, Zeenint pressed his foot against the former Guardian's head.

"How sad to see the mighty fall." Zeenint chuckled. He held out his hand, summoning a sphere of green energy. "But I will offer you a second chance. Serve me and I promise you won't die."

"Burn in hell." Nazo spat.

"Oh, wrong answer." Zeenint smirked.

The emerald master released his contained power and jumped backwards as the explosion expanded for several yards. At the beginning, Zeenint figured that he had won. But that was before he detected an unknown power slowly raising within the calamity. The green light was suddenly pushed aside and replaced by a golden glow that Zeenint was all too familiar with. Super Sonic was crouched in front of Nazo, who had suddenly regained his energy from the hedgehog's presence. To add further interest, the seven Chaos Emeralds had left Zeenint's side and surrounded the golden hero with a brilliant glow.

"The Super Form?" Zeenint glared. "No, this is more powerful than the Super Form."

"Yo, Naz, you ok?" Sonic smirked back to his comrade. "Man, you look pathetic."

"Sonic...how...?" Nazo stammered.

"Just leave it to me." Sonic grunted. "The second condition has been met."

"The second condition?" Nazo repeated.

"The second condition..." Sonic growled gruffly. "To protect those in need!"

Super Sonic exploded in a ray of golden light, blinding both Nazo and Zeenint – Metal watched nearby with peaked interest. The emerald hedgehog hissed menacingly as the light slowly faded, allowing him to see once more. The golden hedgehog had changed dramatically. Sonic quills reached down to his back and were caught in a tangled mess with his eyes sharp with a serious expression. But what drew Zeenint's attention more was the current level of power – he was stronger than even five Super Forms put together. The golden warrior raised his hand, pointing his finger to his enemy.

"Watch out, Zeenint!" Mega Sonic declared. "Because I'm coming for you!"

"So he says." Zeenint grinned. "Things are finally starting to get interesting."

**

* * *

**

The flow of battle spikes to the next level. Will Sonic Mega Form prove strongest enough to defeat Zeenint? Will Sonic survive his own power? Or will Zeenint regain his command? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!

**Please, read and review.**


	96. Master of the Emerlds, Part 2

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Part 2 of 5 of the Zeenint Saga

Chapter Ninety-Six: Master of the Emeralds, Part 2

"Watch out, Zeenint!" Sonic declared. "Because I'm coming for you!"

Such a statement was not to be taken lightly, especially when going against the Mega Form. But while Sonic had managed to unlock the secrets of the high-powered form, Sonic was still under the pressure of the side effects. The long-haired hedgehog needed to end the fight in a limited amount of time. But this was against Zeenint, the source of the Master Emerald's power. This was not going to be an easy fight. Speaking of the former master, Zeenint floated loftily in the air, staring down at the golden hero with mild interest.

"You're coming for me, are you?" Zeenint said tauntingly. "That's the best you could come up with? I expected much better out of you. I bet you expected to strike fear into your opponent." He shook his head slowly. "But you worry me not."

"Believe me!" Sonic glared. "I don't make idle threats!"

"And I believe you." Zeenint shrugged. "But you still don't have the power or authority to back it..."

Before the emerald master realized what had occurred, he was hurtling backwards towards the ground. He smashed through three of the frozen pillars created by Nazo and landed inside one of the frosty buildings, which collapsed over him. Metal Sonic, who was watching the battle from the peek of the nearest pillar, looked from the fallen walls to the point where he started. Mega Sonic was hovering over the same spot where Zeenint once rested – his fist smoking faintly.

"_This power..._" Metal thought angrily. "_It's clearly superior to the Super Form. I hate to admit it, but even I couldn't copy that kind of power._" He glared at his flesh doppelganger. "_Sonic...how far have you come?_"

"Ugh...my head." Rouge was waking from her unconscious state, rubbing her head. "Did anyone get the license off that truck?"

"I wouldn't move if I were you." Metal suggested, landing next to the bat. "Your body has taken heavy damage from that one attack. It's possible that any sudden movements could be fatal. Of course, I am uncertain of vampire anatomy."

"Don't call me a vampire!!" Rouge screeched, punching Metal's face. "Anyway, what happened to Sonic?"

"Why don't you look for yourself?" Metal said pointedly.

Rouge followed the direction of her temporary ally and gaped in awe. She had seen the news reports of Sonic saving the world from the Armageddon, but seeing the Mega Form in person was a completely different experience. Sonic had never appeared so serious before – he was usually playful around enemies. Zeenint emerged from the ruins, scattering the debris in the area. He mostly appeared unharmed with the exception of the blood escaping his maw. The former master rubbed the blood of with the back of his hand, staring at the crimson liquid.

"So you become the one to draw first blood." Zeenint grinned. "That was awfully vicious. I approve."

"So what was that about not being able to back it up?" Sonic sniggered.

"Don't get overexcited." Zeenint said as he lifted off the ground. "I will admit that it was my own fault - I underestimated your abilities. But I promise I won't make the same mistake twice."

"_I think he's actually serious._" Sonic thought. "_I used nearly half my strength in that one blow and I barely put a dent in him. This guy is unimaginably stronger._" All of a sudden, his right arm seized up. "_It's just like Nyrox said. The Mega Form is slowly destroying my body. I need to end this fast._"

"Don't get distracted." Zeenint said, appearing in front of his opponent. "It could very well be your last mistake."

Sonic curved backwards as Zeenint foot swung close to his face. The long-haired hero flipped backwards in the air and stretched his foot the former master's chin. Unfortunately, his surprise attack missed as Zeenint swiftly grabbed the hedgehog's ankle and tossed him to one side. The long-haired hedgehog collided with one of the frozen pillars, only to be smashed straight through by Zeenint himself. The emerald hedgehog slammed his knee directly into the hedgehog's ribs and sent him speeding towards the ground, forming a crater of thirty feet. Despite Metal's various warnings, Rouge was determined to see if he was all right. So, being a "gentlemen", Metal allowed the weakened bat to ride on his back as the metallic clone skated over to the crater.

"Sonic, are you ok?" Rouge asked concerned.

"Maybe he's dead." Metal suggested hopefully; Rouge hit him over the head. "That is still uncalled for."

"I'm...I'm fine."

A gloved hand ripped out from the fresh ground, slowly pulling the remainder of the body. The cobalt hedgehog only had the strength to pull his upper body out of the dirt and collapsed weakly within the crater. Zeenint was clearly powerful as he had forced Sonic out of his Mega Form with a minimal of close range attacks. The hedgehog himself was covered in a number of bruises across his body, his fur was matted with random spots of blood, and he had a black eye over his left eye. Needless to say, Sonic had better days.

"What the hell happened to you?" Metal questioned. "How could receive that much damage in one attack."

"_No..._" Sonic thought tiredly. "_It wasn't just one attack._"

_

* * *

_

---Flashback---

Mega Sonic collided with one of the frozen pillars, leaving an indent pressed into the ice. And before the long-haired hedgehog could pull himself out, Zeenint arrived and jammed his knee into his opponent's gut. The ice cracked ominously, but didn't break. That's when it happened. The emerald hedgehog pulled back both fists and delivered exactly one hundred and seven blows within a matter of seconds. The ice pillar finally fractures and shot Sonic to the ground – his body regaining its royal-blue color before making contact with the ground

_---End Flashback---_

* * *

"_He did all that without even Metal noticing._" Sonic thought weakly, groaning in pain. "_I'll bet if I wasn't in my Mega Form, I wouldn't have seen it as well. This guy is unbelievably fast._"

"Is that all?" Zeenint taunted. "Come on, I was hoping for more of a challenge." All of a sudden, his fist swung around and made contact with an unseen object. The object made contact with a nearby temple, blowing off the top section of the building. "And I had hoped you would have learned from your own failure, my former subordinate."

The dust that had collected around the remains of the temple blew to the side at once, revealing the Dark Ruler himself. Nazo was convinced that his Guardian Form wasn't going to work and returned to his standard form. Unfortunately, the additional speed was not enough to catch his former master by surprise – proven by the welt on his cheek.

"I've already explained this once before." Nazo said grudgedly. "I am not the person I once was."

"Then tell me." Zeenint smirked. "Who are you?"

"That's an easy one." Nazo said seriously. "I am Nazo, the God of Darkness!!"

Without warning, the silver hedgehog exploded into a blast of sinister-red energy. Zeenint easily brushed the power aside, but stood impressed at his former servant's latest accomplishment. Nazo had entered into his Hell Form and went beyond – his quills formed a tangled mass that stretched to his lower back. Perfect Nazo stood ready to fight.

"Perfect Nazo, how original." Zeenint said sarcastically. "You know, Sonic's little trick didn't work on me either."

"I am different from Sonic." Nazo said strictly, hovering off the ground. "I am superior to him in every way."

"Really?" Zeenint taunted. "Because if I remember correctly, it was him who saved your hide from Black Doom."

Enraged by the memory of the Dark Gaia Incident, Perfect Nazo dived ahead and thrusted his fist for Zeenint, who effortlessly pushed it aside. Following his fist in the motion, the Dark Ruler swung his leg around and surprisingly landed a direct hit to Zeenint's neck. The emerald hedgehog hissed angrily and swiped his hand across his former subdominant's leg, which Nazo had pulled back at the last minute. This time, Zeenint went on the offensive. Much like his experience with Sonic, the emerald master released over a hundred punches faster than anyone could blink. But Nazo's eyes were much faster and his managed to knock aside each and every one of them. Growing further frustrated, Zeenint gathered a large amount of energy into his fist and thrusted it forward much faster than before. Nazo wasn't fast enough to completely dodge it, but the attack only grazed his shoulder. The former master and servant were now face to face with one another.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" Zeenint said malevolently. "My own Chaos Energy acts as a poison to others, rendering them immobile for several hours. But I will submit that you were a much more worthy challenge than the blue one."

"The challenge has only just begun." Nazo smirked. The emerald hedgehog felt something press against his chest and looked down. Imagine his surprise when he saw Nazo's hand gained a light glow. "Say hello to the Council for me. **Chaos Lance!!**"

The spear of energy jabbed into Zeenint's chest and ripped through the other side. The emerald hedgehog's eyes were wide in shock and he drifted backwards, looking down at the open wound. A large hole was formed over the places where his heart and lungs once rested, completely eradicated. But to Nazo's dismay, Zeenint's skin began reaction almost instantly and reformed the missing fragments in a matter of seconds. The former master stood in silence as the black scar reformed over his restored chest and glared at his former servant.

"_Something doesn't make sense._" Zeenint thought suggestively. "_I know for a fact that not even Nazo has the skill to counteract my Chaos Toxin with his own power. There has to be some kind of..._" Realizing something, he looked down to the Chaos Emeralds sitting on the ground, noting their faint glow. "_Of course. The only way he would be able to maintain his current form is by depositing the excess energy into his emeralds. That's how defeated my toxin. I'll admit that was brilliant._"

"Have you forgotten your own words?" Nazo questioned, appearing before his former master. Next thing Zeenint knew, he was pressed into the nearest ice pillar. "Don't get distracted. It could very well be your last mistake."

"Funny." Zeenint commented. "Using my own words against me. That just won't stand."

Meanwhile, Metal and Rouge were able to unearth the cobalt hedgehog. Sonic was lying across he ground, panting deeply in his throat, while his metallic doppelganger searched over him.

"The injuries are not as severe as we had expected." Metal stated. "your body has taken a large amount of physical damage, but you internal systems seem to be operating properly."

"At least something's going right." Rouge commented.

"It must have been the Mega Form." Sonic said tiredly. "What about my life force?"

"That is the most critical." Metal answered. "Your Chaos Energy and life force were reacting simultaneously with your Mega Form, meaning you lose life along with your Chaos."

"How much?" Sonic questioned.

"I would say about nine years." Metal estimated. "Be thankful that you didn't use any of your Chaos Techniques or it would have doubled that amount. The more energy you use, the shorter your life becomes."

"I need to use the Mega Form again." Sonic groaned as he pushed himself up.

"Are you insane?!" Rouge screeched, trying to push him down. "If you keep using it, you'll only be killing yourself! And you have no idea how powerful this guy really is! What the hell would make you want to go back out there?!"

"Hey, someone's got to be the hero." Sonic said jokingly. "May as well be the one with the experience. And besides, I'm not stupid enough to go back out there without thinking things through."

"You have a plan." Metal stated.

The cobalt hedgehog merely grinned. Back on the battlefield, Nazo was no longer fairing any better than the others. Though he was no longer affected by the overflow of energy, this created a new problem. The God of Darkness was quickly running out of energy, cutting him off from the use of Chaos Techniques. Zeenint and his former subordinate were locked in close range combat with both sides moving at lightning speed. Nazo raised his foot and shot twenty-seven kicks simultaneously, possibly through a secret technique, and pushed the Emerald Hedgehog backwards. After forcing his former master's back against the nearest ice pillar, Nazo gathered an aura of crimson energy around his fist and released it. However, Zeenint effortlessly caught it and grabbed the other hand a moment later. It was only then Nazo realized something was amiss.

"You..." Nazo gasped horrifically. "You aren't even trying are you?"

"No, I'm not." Zeenint smirked confidently. "But I suppose I could tweak it up just for you."

The emerald master threw Nazo arms up and drilled his fist into the hedgehog's chest. The God of Darkness doubled over in pain, which was only intensified when Zeenint slammed his knee into Nazo's forehead. While his former subordinate was temporarily dazed, he grabbed the crimson hedgehog by his ankle and made a dive for the ground. The emerald hedgehog made a swift landing and threw pressed Nazo into the ground, forming a large crater in the frozen ground. Nazo was safe from any major damage due to his Perfect Form, but he was quickly running out of energy. His former master released his leg and motioned his hand closer to the Dark Ruler's neck, closing his finger around his throat.

"Oh, how the tables have turned." Zeenint said malevolently. "Maybe if you had been loyal to the Guardians like Obsiden and your brother, you might have lasted a few more days."

"How could I give my loyalty to someone who wanted to kill off the entire planet?" Nazo growled.

"You don't seem to have a problem with killing these days." Zeenint said darkly. "In fact, I believe there were two incidents where you were threatening to destroy it with you own power. Why is that?" Nazo remained silent, but the emerald hedgehog already came to the answer. "Oh, I see. Because the world took the love of your life, because you lost Lightra, you wanted to take revenge on all life."

"I was supposed to be a father." Nazo murmured sadly.

"That's right." Zeenint cackled. "Lightra was carrying your child at the time she died. You swore vengeance against all life and allowed yourself to be consumed by hatred. But there was one factor you did not predict: Sonic."

"What about him?" Nazo seethed.

"He's slowly converting you." Zeenint said knowingly. "As long as you continue to associate with the hedgehog, your anger and aggression will lessen with each passing moment. Then one day, you will be as threatening as a newborn Chao."

"That will never happen!!!" Nazo roared furiously.

Zeenint was genuinely surprised. Nazo's anger gave him a sudden explosion of power and kicked his former master back across the field and into one of the stone houses. The God of Darkness allowed himself to be taken over by a strong surge of evil energy and formed around his body. Zeenint stepped out of the home and watched with a superior grin on his expression.

"Yes...that's it." Zeenint said as watched his forearm; the veins were pulsing under his skin. "Allow your anger to take you over. Submerse yourself within your own hatred."

"You know nothing about me!!" Nazo exclaimed angrily. "I will not be tamed by anyone!! I am the creator of the Chaos Emeralds, the God of Darkness, and the supreme master of the universe!! And I swear I will send your straight to..."

"Naz?"

Without warning, the Dark Ruler's rage disappeared as a hand landed on his shoulder. Sonic, having regained his Mega Form, stood besides his temporary partner with playful grin on his face. Zeenint looked back at his forearm and watched the veins disappear back under his skin. Now Zeenint was furious. Who was Sonic to deprive him of such an excellent opportunity?

"You need to cool down, bro." Sonic said jokingly. "You already look like a boiled lobster."

"Don't touch me." Nazo said spiteful, shrugging his hand off. "And I'm not your brother. The moment Zeenint is dead, I'll be coming for you next."

"Let's settle that for later." Sonic suggested. "But right now, I have an idea."

The God of Darkness glanced at his temporary ally with interest. Zeenint watched the long-haired warriors as Sonic suddenly cupped his mouth close to Nazo's ear – the crimson hedgehog grinned eagerly. Fearing that they may have spotted his only weakness, the emerald hedgehog kicked off the ground and raced forward. The long-haired warriors jumped in opposite directions as Zeenint crossed between them with his fist thrown out. Taking the chance, Sonic swung his leg around to the master's stomach while Nazo threw a jab to the face. However, Zeenint flipped forward in midair, successfully avoiding both strike and giving him a chance for a counterattack. The emerald hedgehog grabbed Nazo's wrist with the joint of his leg and grabbed Sonic's ankle with his hand. The former master curled himself and threw Sonic backwards while forcing Nazo to the ground. Zeenint jumped away from the duo, brushing away the sweat on his forehead.

"_That was too close for comfort._" Zeenint thought. "_I could take them one-on-one, but them working together could be a serious problem._"

"That worked out well." Nazo grumbled, massaging his wrist.

"We don't need to beat him." Sonic stated. "Just stall him long enough."

"This plan of yours better be worth it." Nazo glared.

"_What are they up to?_" Zeenint wondered.

The emerald master watched motionlessly for several minutes, trying to think of their next move. It was only a moment later that he realized both long-haired hedgehogs were missing. Sonic and Nazo reappeared directly behind him, swinging their legs around to his head. Unfortunately, Zeenint predicted this outcome and dropped his upper body closer to the ground. The emerald master crossed his arms and aimed both palms over his shoulders as they formed two spheres of green energy. As the former master released the sphere, Nazo raised his arm and Sonic curled into his ball form. A cloud of smoke formed on contact and two blurs escaped at opposite ends. Nazo skidded backwards across the frosty ground while Sonic bounced a little before breaking out of his ball form. Both hedgehogs stood ready as Zeenint slowly made his way out of the smoke haze.

"You two certainly are something." Zeenint said amusingly. "I haven't had this much trouble since I battled Chaos and Aero together. And even then, they were unable to fully kill me."

"What is taking them so long." Nazo muttered, clenching his fist.

"Any second now." Sonic fidgeted. "Come on, guys."

"I don't know what you two had planned, but it won't work." Zeenint said confidently, summoning two spheres of energy into both hands. "Now just do me a favor and – Augh!!"

All of a sudden, a golden-eyed Rouge dived out of the smoke cloud and stabbed her fangs into Zeenint's neck. The emerald master suddenly felt his energy being drained away, forcing him to relinquish his attacks. At the same time, Rouge's wounds were healing the longer she continued to drink the hedgehog's blood – a trait she inherited from Alucard. With fear finally breaching Zeenint's heart, threw his fist around to throw the vampire bat off him. But at the instant he did so, Metal appeared in front with his right claw covered in an aura of electrical energy. The metallic clone thrusted his claw forward, just nicking Zeenint's cheek as the hedgehog sidestepped the assault. Hissing under his breath, the emerald hedgehog kicked Metal's chest to throw him back to Rouge, whose eye regained their aquatic color.

"Did you get him?" Rouge asked.

"Yeah, I got him." Metal nodded. "This battle is finished."

"Such arrogance." Zeenint smirked. "I should really repay for biting my...." The emerald hedgehog gaped horrifically. He tried to move his arms to strike, but his limbs were no longer reacting as they once did. "What's going on? Why can't a I move?"

"When I attacked you, it wasn't to draw blood." Metal explained, showing his electrified claw. "I have two distinct energies that can be used for different purposes. My regular energy is the one I use for direct attacks such as the Metal Surge. And then my secondary energy is used for smaller functions."

"Smaller functions?" Zeenint repeated.

"From the moment I opened that wound on your face, it was over." Metal stated. "I deposited by own elemental nature into your body and paralyzed all of your electrical nerves, rendering you unable to move."

"But then my Chaos Energy would have healed me." Zeenint growled.

"We thought of that, too." Rouge smiled deviously. "The special thing about being part vampire is that when we drink blood, it grants us two things: healing and absorption." She winked flirtatiously. "So when I was giving you my little love bite..."

"You were draining my power." Zeenint realized.

"I didn't think it would work, but I was clearly wrong." Nazo smirked victoriously. "This is the end...Master Zeenint."

Sonic held out his palm and started to gather a compressed amount of golden energy at the same time Nazo was forming a crimson sphere in his hand. Zeenint struggled fruitlessly to move, but the combined efforts of Metal and Rouge had proven to be his downfall. In one swift motion, the long-haired hedgehog raced across the field with their hands outstretched, meeting together with Zeenint in the middle. The emerald could only watch in horror as the two strike mingled together at their moment of contact.

"**Twilight Sphere!!**"

The blast radius expanded over the Mystic Ruins, destroying all that was left of the echidna culture. That's to Metal's swift speed, he and Rouge were able to avoid being caught in the blast. No one, not even Zeenint could have survived such an assault. The mingling energies remained glowing for several long minutes before being released into the atmosphere as thin streams of vapor. The cater that was left behind must have been at least a couple miles wide and at least fifty yards deep. Zeenint was lying in the center of the crater – his eyes were lifeless. Sonic and Nazo had returned to their original forms as the stared down at the corpse of the former master.

"Sonic, that was amazing!" Rouge cheered as she landed next to the hedgehog.

"Aw, it was no big deal." Sonic grinned joyously.

"I'd hate to admit it, you your powers have proven valuable." Metal stated as he followed behind. "But even so, that does not mean you stand a chance against my power. In the near future, I will kill you."

"Aw, you know you were worried about me." Sonic laughed.

"I was not!!" Metal exclaimed.

While Sonic and Rouge were laughing at the expense of the metallic clones, Nazo silently separated himself from the rest of the group. Zeenint's words were still buzzing around his head. There was no way Sonic the hedgehog would be able to tame him, the God of Darkness. It was impossible. But he had been right about one thing: Nazo was unusually calm around the cobalt hero. That needed to change. But just when the Dark Ruler thought his luck was running out, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. The seven Chaos Emeralds were glistening under the vivid sun, despite being half buried into the ground. Nazo looked back to the rest of the group – they were too busy to notice him.

"This must be my luck day." Nazo chuckled lowly. "I'm sure they won't notice them missing."

But as the Dark Ruler stretch his hand to grab the nearest emerald, it vanished in a flash of green light. There were six more similar flashes, signaling the disappearance of the remaining emeralds. All of a sudden, a familiar voice echoed through the sky.

"That was very impressive!" Zeenint laughed. "If this had been a real fight, I might have actually broken a sweat!"

"Zeenint!!" Sonic, Rouge, and Metal exclaimed shockingly.

"But that's impossible." Nazo growled, looking back to the corpse. "I felt his heart rate drop. There was no way he could have..." Just then, the deceased hedgehog's body deformed into cloud of emerald vapors, fading into the atmosphere. "A Chaos Clone."

"What's a Chaos Clone?" Sonic questioned.

"It's an exact replica of the user made from Chaos Energy." Nazo explained seriously. It's one of the few moves I haven't mastered because it's too dangerous. It's a special technique that allows the user to create an exact replica with the same strength, stamina, and abilities. But in doing so, you must surrender a large amount of your own energy.

"On normal cases, that would be true." Zeenint said. "But in my case, that clone only used thirty percent of my power."

"_Only thirty percent?!_" Metal thought fearfully. "_It took all four of us just to defeat the clone! How powerful is this guy?!_"

"Zeenint, you better surrender the Chaos Emerald's at once!" Nazo demanded.

"Oh, I will in time." Zeenint chuckled. "If you want to obtain them, coming to the home of my prison. My powers have allowed me to send the island into the sky once more. So this time, there will be no interference."

And with that, his presence was gone.

"What do we do now?" Rouge asked depressingly.

"There's only one thing we can do." Sonic said, clenching his fist in determination. "We have to get to Angel Island and put an end to this freak of nature once and for all!"

"Yelling things like that is pointless." Nazo said coldly. "Zeenint is a god in his own terms. We were nearly killed by a clone that only used thirty percent of his power. Taking him head-on would be suicide."

"Hey, we've handled our fair share of gods before." Sonic grinned. "This time won't be any different. So if you're up for it, Naz. We could really use your help."

The cobalt hedgehog held out his hand to offer for the God of Darkness. Nazo wished nothing more than to kill Sonic where he stood, but that wouldn't solve anything. Zeenint had all seven Chaos Emeralds and the God of Darkness was possibly the only one who knew all the secrets behind his former master. Even if Sonic had proven to be a hindrance in the past, there was no denying he had the skills needed to win this war. Nazo was hesitant to raise his hand until his noticed a familiar glimmer in the hedgehog's eye.

"_Aero..._" Nazo thought nostalgically. "_Fate can be so cruel._"

There alliance was confirmed.

**

* * *

**

The ultimate power of the master continues to grow. Will Sonic and the others prove a match for the true Zeenint? Will the emerald Master be too much for them to overcome? And how has he grown so powerful over the centuries? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!

**Please, read and review.**


	97. Master of the Emerlds, Part 3

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Part 3 of 5 of the Zeenint Saga

Chapter Ninety-Seven: Master of the Emeralds, Part 3

The scene opens to the leafy plains of Angel Island. True to the words of the former master, Zeenint used his powers to force the legendary island into the air once more. What really concerned the Heroes is the fact that Zeenint only used a small fraction of his power to perform such a feat. Speaking of whom, the group of four was scrambling through the forest, making their way to the Master Emerald shrine. Rouge was flying over the canopy while Metal, Nazo, and Sonic dodged the tree trunks. They eventually came to a stop close to the visible plain around the Master Emerald shrine. Metal quickly spotted Zeenint sitting at the top step of the shrine, apparently sleeping, with the seven Chaos Emeralds resting on the surrounding pillars.

"We found him, but is that the real one?" Rouge asked cautiously.

"He's the real thing, all right." Nazo scowled. "I've never seen so much Chaos in one place since the God of Destruction himself. No clone could ever mimic this kind of power."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Sonic asked curiously. "Should we just take the Chaos Emeralds while he's napping?"

"Even if we do take the Chaos Emeralds, what then?" Metal glowered. "It two Mega Forms and our separate skills to take down a clone with only thirty percent of his original power. Unless you have some trick to push past the Mega Form, we don't stand a chance."

"Actually, I was going to suggest..." Sonic began.

"Might _I_ suggest that you show yourselves?" Zeenint murmured; his voice traveled. "Listening to you bicker is really getting on my nerves."

The Heroes were caught off guard for the moment. Though Zeenint didn't even have to open his eyes, he was able to detect them in a matter of seconds. The group of four jumped from the shade of the trees and landed in front of the emerald shrine, poised to attack Zeenint if necessary. The emerald master slowly opened his eyes, staring down at them amusingly.

"That's better." Zeenint smirked. "Now I can see you smiling faces properly."

"Don't screw around with us, hedgehog." Metal warned.

"Don't call me that." Zeenint scowled. "Don't ever call me hedgehog. I am not the same as you deformed rejects of nature. I am a being beyond animalistic minds, beyond anything you could possibly comprehend!"

"You sure don't like animals." Rouge commented. "Especially being an animal yourself."

"I don't dislike animals...." Zeenint muttered dangerously. "I _loathe_ them. You sentient outcast and your disfigured mutations. You think you can consider yourself our equals just because you try to act human? Filthy animals are not meant to walk, talk, or think. They are to exist for the survival of the human race! We are superior to you in every way!"

"So he's the reason they exist." Sonic said lowly.

"The reason who exists?" Rouge asked curiously.

"You already know that most humans and animals treat each other as equals." Sonic said; Rouge nodded. "But sometimes, there's always someone who feels that one race should be in control of the other. When my ancestor, Luscious the Hedgehog, became the first animal king of South Island, a civil war nearly broke out. The humans thought that their kind should be the only ones to rule. But Luscious and the former king reasoned with them, saying that no one is better than the other."

"It's discrimination." Metal stated.

"Just know that you're the guy that did it..." Sonic growled furiously. "Makes me want to kill you even more."

"Then try if you must." Zeenint shrugged. "But be warned: I was observing the battle with my clone and learned all of your tactics and powers. I never make the same mistake twice."

"Wait!" Nazo shouted. He threw out his hand to prevent Sonic from charging in. "Before we begin, I have some questions for your, Zeenint."

"Such as?" Zeenint asked; his brow raised.

"Back when we fought your clone, I noticed something different." Nazo explained. "You had enough power to perform a perfect Chaos Clone without suffering the backlash of the technique. That's when it came to me: you are ten times more powerful than you were on Parasiden. The thing I want to know is how that is possible."

"Like I said, I never made the same mistake twice." Zeenint chuckled, much to the confusion of his former servant. "Back on Parasiden, my plan was to release myself from this wretched hedgehog form using the souls of the dead. And to do that, I had you create a special weapon."

"The virus." Nazo said.

"Precisely." Zeenint nodded. "Of course, I didn't realize that I was unintentionally making myself weaker with each death. It wasn't until after I was sealed away that I discovered the source of my power: the darkness within people's hearts. And by killing off most of Parasiden's population, I destroyed my own strength. So this time around, I was not going to make the same mistake."

"The news reports said there were no casualties." Rouge informed. "Zeenint must have intentionally let everyone live in order to keep himself powerful."

"That is exactly my reason." Zeenint acknowledged. "But without the souls of the dead to assist e, I needed to find an alternate means of freeing my true form. Imagine my joy when I learned that my former servant created an ideal source of unique power."

"The Chaos Emerald!" Sonic exclaimed.

"That's it." Zeenint snickered sinisterly. And with the power of the seven Chaos Emeralds, I will shatter this hideous shell and regain my full power." His eyes narrowed to Sonic, who shivered at his gaze. "Who ironic that our final battle would be in the same place where you betrayed me, Sonic."

"What are you talking about?" Sonic questioned. "I would never join someone like you."

"You mean you never told him?" Zeenint laughed cruelly to Nazo, who looked away sadly. "The memories of him must have been very painful. So to spare your feelings, I'll be the one to tell him."

"Tell me what?" Sonic asked anxiously.

"You are the reincarnation of Nazo's brother." Zeenint stated.

The cobalt hedgehog's body was frozen in shock and his mind was working rapidly to absorb this information. He, Sonic the Hedgehog, was the spiritual brother of the God of Darkness. His mind wanted to say that Zeenint was just trying to mess with him, but some part in his heart told him that it was true. It was then that he began to notice the similarities between them: the eyes, the structure, and their quills were almost the same when Sonic was in Super Form. Fate must really be screwing with them.

"This explains why Nazo has been so lenient around you." Zeenint continued. "When he looks at you, the memories of his beloved brother resurface within his mind."

"Nazo..." Sonic murmured softly.

"I want to know one thing." Nazo said, obviously trying to change the subject. "You said that your final battle would be in the same place where Sonic betrayed you. But Parasiden has disappeared for centuries. No one even knows it still exists."

"That is true." Zeenint said. "Parasiden no longer exists. But its essence still remains."

"What do you mean?" Metal questioned.

"To explain this story, I have to back." Zeenint said sagely. "Back to the beginning....of existence."

_

* * *

_

---Flashback---

The scene was nothing but an endless grey sheet with nothing left to occupy it. But then, two figures formed within the grey slate and glowed ominously. The creature to the left held a pair of sunny-gold eyes with a white aura and the one to the right had four blazing-red eyes with a black aura.

**"In the beginning, there was nothing." Zeenint said. "There was only an endless shade of grey – no life, no death, no light, no darkness. But in the center of this endless abyss were two sentient beings. Two brothers to be exact. The Highest One, Mythril, and the Malevolent One, Orphius."**

**"Mythril was the one that created the universe, right?" Sonic asked.**

**"He didn't do it alone." Zeenint continued. "Though there was nothing in existence, they had already planned ahead for creations that won't exist for over a thousand years ahead of our time. And then, they formed reality."**

The two brothers clapped hands with one another, creating a cataclysmic explosion that washed away the shade of grey. The darker brother painted the sheet with the endless vacuum of space, forming the foundation for their ultimate creation. The lighter brothers filled the dark platform with hundreds of stars, creating the planets and the suns. After what seemed like over a millennia, the two brothers had finally formed the first rough daft of the universe.

**"The two brothers had created the universe, but noticed something missing." Zeenint continued with his story. "That's when Mythril realized he needed life to fill his creation. So he formed the first eight beings. I'm sure you already know one of them."**

**"Alucard..." Rouge hissed.**

**"Mythril used them as a basis to form the other species of the universe." Zeenint stated. "But just when things seemed to be looking up, disaster struck between the two brothers."**

The two unknown creators were seemed battling against one another for control of dominance. With each punch and kick sent and blocked, the universe would literally shake at their presence. And when he finally spotted an opening, Orphius grabbed his brother by the throat and quickly increased his grip. Mythril grabbed his brother's wrist, trying to force him off.

**"While Mythril loved to create, Orphius preferred destruction." Zeenint explained. "Once Mythril had finished crafting a world, Orphius would secretly destroy it out of pure pleasure. Then came the time when Mythril discovered his brother's plot and battled him. The war seemed to fall in favor of Orphius until...."**

All of a sudden, hundred of lights flashed across the universe and were absorbed into Mythril's back. The Highest One suddenly took control of the battle and forced his brother's hand away. Orphius was caught in immediate shock, leaving him wide open for the final strike. Mythril stabbed his hand into his brother's chest – trails of light spread throughout the Malevolent One's body. And just like that, Orphius exploded into millions of dark particles. But despite his proud victory, Mythril clutch his head in internal pain.

**"Those who were thankful to Mythril surrender their power to him." Zeenint said. "This allowed the destruction of Orphius and the salvation of the universe. But without his brother to balance the light and darkness, Mythril was overcome by his own power and fell into a deep sleep."**

**"What does any of this have to do with my question?" Nazo asked.**

**"Patience." Zeenint said coolly. "Anyway, before Mythril fell into slumber, he divided the universe into four quadrants and chose four siblings to balance the universe and watch over his creation."**

Mythril faded from sight and four characters appeared in his place – all of hem human. The tallest of all of the four siblings was had matted, fiery-red hair and a serious expression on his face. The second sibling was the only female among them with silky, violet hair and was winking flirtatiously. The third sibling was the fattest of all of them with a small tuft of messy blue hair and a playful expression. The four was the youngest of them with spiky, emerald-green hair and his features were shadowed from view.

**Mythril chose four worthy guardians and named them Sovereign." Zeenint explained. "I was the youngest of the four siblings under the leadership of my eldest brother, Abedous. We monitored the universe along with my sister, Haleya, and my glutton of a brother, Kainek. For several millennia, everything was peaceful."**

**"Until you ruined it." Metal proclaimed.**

**"I will accept that fault." Zeenint said. "Unlike my siblings, I could see the possibilities behind the Highest One's true abilities. I wanted more power, so I took it."**

Zeenint and Kainek were seen battling within the chasm of a frozen world, jumping across the icy stalagmites. The fatter brother was covered in a number of bruises and his clothes were torn ragged, leaving him tired and powerless. Kainek tried to turn and make a run for it, only to discover Zeenint was looming over him from above. The green-haired guardian held out his palm, summoning a sphere of emerald energy, and released it over his brother. When the dust cleared, all that was left was the tatted coat of his former sibling.

The scene then alternates to a grassy plain on a world across the universe from the previous planet. Zeenint and Haleya crossed their arms and smashed into one another, creating a shockwave that blew away most of the environment. The violet-haired female slammed her forehead into her brother's rendering him momentarily dazed. Taking this advantage, the female Sovereign coated her hand in a purple Chaos and jumped to slash her brother in half. Unfortunately, Zeenint used the same strategy and, with advanced movement, cleaved his sister in two.

**"I had killed** **Haleya and Kainek, transferring their powers to my own." Zeenint said. "And I was on my way to battle Abedous. With his power, I would truly be master of the universe. But just as I approached my brother's world, everything fell apart."**

The emerald-haired warrior was suddenly halted in the outer reaches of space, restrained by an invisible force. All of a sudden, the energy that Zeenint had collected escaped from the Sovereign's body and formed a cocoon around him. When the cocoon of energy faded away, Zeenint was discovered to be reverted to a hedgehog form, similar to his appearance today.

**"The Highest One felt my growing presence and forced himself awake." Zeenint stated. "When he learned of my plan, he contained my power into this hedgehog shell you see now. Weakened and defeated, I was forced to retreat to the nearest planet, which was Parasiden. I'm sue you know what happens after."**

**"So where is Parasiden now?" Nazo questioned.**

**"Funny you should ask." Zeenint chuckled.**

On the deserted planet of Parasiden, Chaos had just finished sealing Nazo and created the seven Chaos Emeralds. Due to the strain of the battle, Chaos dropped to the ground and fell unconscious from exhaustion. But then moment he did, the Master Emerald glistened lightly and disappeared in a flash of light with Chaos and his emeralds. Several years past and Parasiden's appearance grew bleaker until it finally shattered into thousands of pieces, ending its existence. Fortunately, many of the pieces hurtled through space and landed on a planet with an endless ocean, forming the continents of the world.

**"After Chaos' victory, he preformed and unintentional Chaos Control and traveled through time." Zeenint explained. "When he woke up, he believed that he had arrived on some distant world, but in reality, he never left. Parasiden's life so unstable that it collapsed. The remains left behind by the former planet crash landed onto a distant world called the ****Endless****Ocean**** Planet. The remains formed the lands and new life was created."**

**"Thus, Earth was born."**

_---End Flashback---_

* * *

The scene returns to the lands of Angel Island with Zeenint and the Heroes staring back at one another. Zeenint remained seated on the top steps of the shrine, watching amusingly at their confusion. The Heroes had a difficult time that Zeenint was really a chosen protector and that the former Parasiden was actually the predecessor of Earth. Feeling satisfied, Zeenint stood up – the Heroes moved into defensive positions – and turned back to the dull shards that remained of the Master Emerald.

"Hard to believe, isn't it?" Zeenint chuckled. "The Highest One's simple plan of life turned into a complex disaster."

"A disaster you caused!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Even so, I have waited patiently for this moment." Zeenint said, stepping into the circle of shards. "I will not let a several millennia's worth of planning be halted by three rodents and a walking can opener. I will become the true god!"

"Not as long as we have something to say about it!" Rouge yelled.

"That's the point, my dear." Zeenint smirked. "You don't."

The emerald hedgehog looked away from the Heroes and raised his arms to the air, summoning the powers of the mystic gems surrounding him. The Chaos Emeralds glowed brilliants and shots seven colored beams of energy into their collectors body. The former Sovereign cackled wickedly as he felt his hedgehog shell slowly being ripped apart. The Heroes remained motionless at the base of the shrine, immobilized by the sudden chill running done their spine.

"Damn it." Nazo grunted. "This is the true extent of his power. He must be a god."

"Hey, we've face worse, right?" Sonic smiled feebly. "We'll just take him out like everyone else."

"This isn't Dark Gaia or Chaos!" Nazo snapped. "This is an unbeatable force with powers granted by the God of all existence! Even I should have realized that we stood no chance."

"You're just going to quit like that?" Rouge questioned in disbelief.

"What more can we do." Nazo said defeated. "It's hopeless."

Sonic didn't want to believe him. Even if they were only brother's in spirit, Sonic was not willing to let his sibling give in so easily. The cobalt hedgehog charged up the stairway with lightning speed, surprising his allies. He was either very brave or very stupid. Zeenint was nearly complete with his transformation when he felt the presence of Chaos Energy gathering into a small space. Sonic skipped off the top step of the stairway and raised his signature attack forward – a mere few inches separated them.

"**Sonic Wind!!**" Sonic screamed.

"Too late!!" Zeenint roared.

The shrine exploded – shockwaves rattled the island and forced the Heroes to their knees. As Nazo and the others looked to learn the outcome of the attack, their vision was obscured by a thick cloud of smoke.

"Did he get him?" Rouge asked hopefully.

"I don't think so." Metal stated. "If Zeenint was really defeated, the island would have fallen back into the ocean."

"Then what was Sonic thinking about attacking head-on?!" Rouge growled frustrated.

"He was trying to catch Zeenint in his moment of weakness." Metal explained. "If he had managed to strike at the opportune moment, he would have most likely killed him in that instant. But for the first time, Sonic was just too slow."

"Stupid hedgehog." Nazo commented.

A quick gale of wind passed over the island, revealing Sonic being held by his ankle in the hands of the true Zeenint. The emerald master was revealed to be a human that appeared around the age of 20 with spiky, emerald hair and jade-green eyes. He wore a pair of leather-brown boots, silky white pants held by a black belt, leather-brown braces with emerald fragments imbedded in the surface, and a sleeveless black coat. The coat was left open to reveal his muscular form in addition to the black scar present across his chest. The human Zeenint cackled lightly while raising Sonic to eyelevel.

"Such a sad sight." Zeenint shook. "A stupid little rat believing he could beat me? What a joke." Without hesitation, he tossed Sonic to the ground, smashing him against the rocks. "Now that I have unlocked my true form, I am all-powerful."

"No one is all-powerful." Metal stated.

"You think you'll have better luck, faker." Zeenint taunted.

"Do not compare me to that degenerate filthy." Metal snarled. "I am superior. I am the alpha and the Omega. I am Metal!"

"And Haleya said I was overdramatic." Zeenint sniggered.

The metallic doppelganger grabbed hold of his right wrist, steadying it as he drew the inward energy. His claw was swiftly coated in a surge of electrical energy and he used his optical sensors to target his opponent. Zeenint merely grinned as Metal Sonic charged ahead and ripped apart the ground during his approach. Metal swung his claw around, swiping at the emerald master's claw, only to watch it be blocked by Zeenint's forearm. However, Metal seemed to have prepared for this as he opened his claw and released all his energy from his palm directly to the human's face. Unfortunately, Zeenint's own speed easily outstripped Sonic's. Faster than anyone could blink, the former master appeared behind the metallic doppelganger, who was frozen in fear.

"_So fast..._" Metal thought frightfully. "_When did he...?_"

"I already told you." Zeenint said menacingly. "I have become a true god."

Zeenint swiped his hand at Metal's neck, shooting the powerful machine into the ground. Though it was considered a light tap, Metal was drilled over ten feet into the ground, forming a miniature crater. While Zeenint stared down the hole to admire his work, Rouge took this opportunity for a quick counterattack. While her eyes reverting to a piercing gold, Rouge exposed her fangs and dived ahead for Zeenint's neck. Barely a second later, the vampire bat was found struggling within the emerald master's grip.

"How...did you...?" Rouge chocked.

"I really hate repeating myself." Zeenint sighed irritably. "I really don't have time to deal with you guys. In case you haven't notice, I have a world to conquer. And I really don't need to waste my precious moments."

He seemed ready to spare Rouge's lie and walk away until Zeenint felt something cold wrap around his ankle. Without warning, the emerald master cried out in pain as a violent surge of electricity coursed through his veins. Unfortunately, his grip on Rouge allowed the electricity to circulate into her body, dealing just as much damage. By the moment the attack end, Zeenint dropped to the ground after losing consciousness. Metal Sonic, who had pulled himself out of the hole, limped around until he stood over Zeenint's defeated form.

"Well...that was anticlimactic." Metal stated. Rouge then appeared over him and slammed her fist over his head. "OW! What the hell?!"

"What the hell was that all about?!" Rouge screeched. "You could have killed me!"

"Too bad I didn't." Metal muttered, not wanting her to hear. "At any rate, let's finish this before he wakes up."

Rouge set aside her anger for a moment and assisted in turning the human Sovereign on his back. But the results were not what they had hoped for. Zeenint was discovered to be wide awake and perfectly unharmed from Metal's direct assault. The former master quickly wrapped his hands around their throats, smiling devilishly.

"You know I'm just screwing with you, right?" Zeenint laughed.

Meanwhile, Nazo still remained I place from the beginning of the fight, watching the Heroes fruitlessly struggle. No matter what they did, nothing was powerful enough to stop Zeenint. Nazo had lost his friends, his home, and his family to the former lord of Parasiden. There was nothing left but to accept fate."

"This is pointless." Nazo commented, watching the continuing struggle. "Only the Highest One had the power to defeat him. And without his power, there is no hope left in the world. It would just be best if we..."

"Don't even bother finishing that sentence." Nazo sighed and looked over his shoulder to find Sonic, beaten and bruised from earlier. "This fight's not over yet."

"What could you possibly do?" Nazo questioned sternly. "You have nothing left that can defeat a god."

"It doesn't matter." Sonic panted. "No matter what happens, I can't give up. I have too much riding on this."

"What are you talking about?" Nazo asked.

"I have too much to lose." Sonic said thoughtfully. "Amy, Tails, Cream, the team, my friends, mom, dad, and Stream. If I have to, I'll die to protect them." Nazo watched him with interest. "Thousands of people around the world look to me for hope. Mythril himself even said I have the power to defy fate." He chuckled weakly. "I'm not going let some street gang-looking wannabe beat me down."

"You fight to protect your friends." Nazo shook. "That's the reason you can't win. Zeenint fights only for himself, which is why he is so powerful. You petty emotions can't compare to his cold heart."

"I don't think you have the right to say that." Sonic smirked. "You have people you care for, too."

"I have no..."

"What about the Dark Rulers." Sonic interjected, cutting the God of Darkness. "I know you pretend you don't like them, but I can tell that – deep down – you care for them."

Ever since Lightra's death, Nazo had sworn that he would never show compassion to anyone ever again. But upon meeting Sonic, many aspects of his life changed. He fondly recalled all his times with the Dark Rulers. His plans with Mephiles, Shira healing everyone's wounds, Nack pulling some stupid stunt, and Tomo trying to kill him for it. Despite his best efforts, Nazo had indeed come to cherish them – it hurt him.

"You have something to fight for Nazo." Sonic said calmly. "You trying to act cold, but in the end, you're the same guy who helped save the Parasiden."

"What can we do?" Nazo asked seriously. "How can we find the strength to beat him?"

"Did you listen earlier?" Sonic grinned. "I have an idea."

Back to the battle, Zeenint had effortless defeated his two opponents. Metal's body was dented and sparking with his left arm tossed several feet away. Rouge wasn't as badly beaten, but she was too weak too even move her wings. The green Sovereign overshadowed the two as he held out his right palm.

"I'll admit, you two were a bit amusing." Zeenint claimed, forming a sphere into his hand. "But I have over a thousand worlds to conquer and I'd like to get them done before midnight."

"You won't be so lucky, Zeenint!" The human rolled his eyes and looked to the right, spotting Mega Sonic and Perfect Nazo holding their fists for battle. "You'll have to get through us first!"

"The Mega Form?" Zeenint chuckled tauntingly. "You're joking right? The only thing those forms give you are bad haircuts. You could barely beat a clone that had thirty percent of my power."

"It's normally considered that two are better than one." Nazo grinned deviously. "But we found an exception."

"You ready, Naz?" Sonic asked playfully.

"Always." Nazo nodded.

Nazo's brow rose as he watched the show incredulously. He resisted the urge to laugh as Sonic and Nazo performed a series of steps that Zeenint's found humorous. Metal and Rouge found it anything but humorous as they recalled the number of times Sonic, Shadow, Amy, and Kumori performed it. The ritual finally reached to a close at the point where both hedgehogs's touched each other's fingers, chanting along the way.

"**FU-SION-HA!**"

Zeenint was instantly blinded as a sphere of light formed around the hedgehog duo. Though he was not impressed by the dramatic lightshow, the emerald master couldn't help but shiver when he felt their energy suddenly spike tenfold. No Mega Form was this powerful. So when the light finally died, Zeenint was quick to study this technique. Instead of two hedgehogs, he discovered one in their place. The hedgehog greatly resembled Nazo, but with Sonic's playful attitude. The hedgehog had ruby-red fur with a tangle of quills reaching down his back – a golden streak on each quill. He wore a golden vest with crimson linen, white silk pants with a red sash, a pair of dark boots, and a pair of white gloves. The unknown hedgehog opened his eyes, giving off a wave of confidence.

"Who the hell are you?" Zeenint questioned. "What happened to Sonic and Nazo?"

"You're looking at them." Rouge smirked. "The fusion technique combines two people into one super warrior. And with two Mega Forms...."

"We have an Alpha form." Zeenint said interestingly. "All right, if you two are one person, what do you call yourself?"

"Just call me..."

**Sonzo!**

**

* * *

**

The **Battle**** of the centuries moves to the next level. Will Alpha Sonzo prove to be a match for the ultimate enemy? Will the fusion technique last out long enough? Or will Zeenint finally succeed? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	98. Master of the Emerlds, Part 4

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Part 4 of 5 of the Zeenint Saga

Kadaj © Square Enix

Chapter Ninety-Eight: Master of the Emeralds, Part 4

The scene returns to the floating sanctuary of Angel Island, where one of greatest battles in history was taking place. Zeenint, having regained his original form, looked away from Metal and Rouge and faced his newest target. Using his powers of persuasion, Sonic convinced the God of Darkness to fight his former master and perform the Fusion Dance. The combination of two Mega Forms created a warrior that existed on a whole different level.

"Alpha Sonzo, huh?" Zeenint smirked. "I must say, I'm not very impressed."

"Feeling a little bit confident, are we?" Sonzo chuckled playfully. "I wouldn't get too comfortable if I were you."

"You threat is empty as the former Parasiden." Zeenint said arrogantly. You may try to fool yourselves with dreams of power and flashy light shows, but the result will always be the same. In the end, a rat is still a rat." The emerald Sovereign turned back to Metal and Rouge, holding out his palm. "Now if you excuse me, I must get back to wo – AUGH!!"

Before they could blink, before they could even breathe, Sonzo zipped across the field and slammed his fist into the human's chest. The unexpected assault not only knocked Zeenint into the ground, but through the island and into the ocean, forming a geyser of water in his wake. Rouge gapped as the mixed hedgehog landed majestically – his quills blowing with wind – but Metal felt resentment toward him.

"You two all right?" Shadic asked.

"I was just fine without your help." Metal growled as he looked away.

"Just ignore him." Rouge said dully. "Anyway, that was amazing what you did. I'll bet Zeenint's wishing he never met you."

"I wouldn't be too sure." Sonzo said seriously. "When I touched him, I could feel his Chaos coursing through his veins. I've never seen so much energy in one place before. Not even the nine Bijuu together could compare to him. I already know one thing, I'm gonna have to go all out if I want to survive."

"But can you do it?" A flash of light exploded in the air, revealing the emerald master. Zeenint was soaking wet with the smell of sea salt and a bruise formed above his black scar. "Do you honestly think you can defeat someone who could threaten the Highest One?"

"Well, we won't know unless we try." Sonzo shrugged. He hovered into the air until he was level with the human. "Besides, this getting exciting. There is no way I'm gonna pass this."

"Your confidence will be the end of you." Zeenint sneered.

"Look who's talking." Sonzo chuckled. "At least I didn't get my tail handed to me by a mutated rodent using a little butter knife."

"You irritable little pest!" Zeenint snarled. "I am going to send you to hell!"

"Bring it!" Sonzo challenged.

The two godly warriors stared down at once another with the world waiting for them with baited breathe. Though it originally seemed like nothing was happening, Metal's sensors allowed him to see that they were actually gathering energy from their surroundings. And then they were off. Zeenint and Alpha Sonzo shot rocketed at one another and, just as they were about to collide, both warriors vanished. Rouge snapped her head left and right across the grounds, trying to spot them.

"Where are they?" Rouge asked quickly. "Did they use Chaos Control or something?"

"No, they're still here." Metal stated; his eyes followed an unseen force. "They are just moving at a rate that is too fast for a simple organic such as yourself to follow. Fortunately, my technology is not so limited."

"So, who's winning?" Rouge questioned.

"At this rate, it's impossible to tell." Metal replied.

Meanwhile, Metal's eyes continued to follow the battle with Zeenint and Sonzo defying all logic. The human Sovereign and the Alpha hedgehog were moving much faster than anyone would expect – time seemed to slow down around them. Alpha Sonzo thrusted his foot forward, but Zeenint capture the hedgehog's leg under his arm, preventing him from moving. With his target capture, Zeenint swung his arm around to the hedgehog's neck. The mixed hedgehog was forced to react on instincts and curled his spine backwards to dodge the fist by half an inch. After the danger had passed, Sonzo twisted his leg around and slammed his heel into the Sovereign's cheek, forcing him to release. But green-haired human wasn't about to let that go. Gathering a large supply of green Chaos energy, the emerald master held out his palm.

"**Chaos Bombardment!**" Zeenint yelled.

The Sovereign released series of emerald-colored energy arrows similar to Shadow's signature Chaos Spear. With the power he held, Alpha Sonzo easily swiped them aside. But the moment he touched them, the energy exploded instantaneously, creating a chain reaction. Time resumed to its normal pace as Sonzo crashed into the ground, forming a large indent in the dirt. Burning marks covered a majority of the hedgehog's body, which was thankfully healed due to Nazo's regenerative powers.

"Ow...that hurt." Sonzo groaned.

"_You imbecile!_" Nazo yelled from within their mind. "_You share my memory! You should know that Chaos Bombardment is a reactive technique that implodes when coming in contact with non-energy substances!_"

"_Wh says I'm the one in control!_" Sonic snapped. "_Sonzo is made from both of us!_"

"_This creature mostly uses my body and abilities._" Nazo explained. "_But it is control by your mind and heart, meaning you're the one in command._

"_Oh..._" Sonic replied.

While the mixed hedgehog was distracted by the two voices bickering in his head, Zeenint landed above him. His feet crushed the ground on either side of the hedgehog and his hand wrapped around Sonzo's throat.

"Why do villains always go for the throat?" Sonzo choked. "Can't you come up with something more original?"

"I suppose I can't pass up the chance to watch a rat die slowly." Zeenint said menacingly. "I just love killing disgusting animals whenever possible. That's why I took great pleasure in killing off Parasiden."

"Nazo's power's a mine, right?" Sonzo grunted. "Then that means I should be able to do this! **Chaos Blade!**"

An aura of red energy surrounded Sonzo's hand as he swiped across Zeenint's chest. The emerald master hissed agonizingly as her blade of energy cut through his black scar, increasing the pain by tenfold. After forcing himself out of the master's grip, Sonzo pushed himself up by his hands and slammed his foot into Zeenint's face. Metal and Rouge jumped to opposite sides while the Sovereign tumbled backwards and plowed through a nearby boulder. The two temporary allies watched amazingly as a red blur passed them, leading up to Sonzo holding the former master by his coat.

"Look's like you're having a bad day." Sonzo commented jokingly. "Ready to give up?"

"Not just yet." Zeenint sneered. Without warning, her grabbed Sonzo's quills roughly. "This is only the beginning. **Chaos Control!**"

And just as expected, both warriors vanished in a flash of green light.

"Any idea where they went now?" Rouge asked.

"Stop asking me questions, you stupid organic." Metal glared, earning another fist over his head. "Damn it!"

* * *

The scene alternates to the small remainder of Emerald Town on the far side of the country. After Zeenint's earlier attack on the town, all that was left was a twenty foot crater and a few pieces of rubble. The people that were left alive by the former master were forced to camp outside the debris with the assistance of some old friends. Rogue, Siren, and Phantom of the Bat Colony were helping Amy and Kumori as they directed the people to their places. Just then, Kadaj arrived on his cycle with a create tied to the back of the seat.

"Look's who's finally back with the supplies." Kumori said impatiently.

"Be grateful I'm even helping you in the first place." Kadaj sneered, cutting the crate ropes with Souba, his sword. "The only reason I'm taking my time to assist you is because Shadow asked me to."

"That, and you like being a good guy." Amy teased; Kadaj glared. "Now take that to service tent two and three."

"Noisy little rat telling me what to do...." Kadaj muttered incoherently as he carried the crate off.

"Now that only leaves...." Siren began until her ears started to twitch. "Hey, what's that?"

The gathered heroes stared questionably until a sudden explosion erupted a few feet away from them. Amy and the others shielded their eyes as the smoke cloud overshadowed them – Phantom dodged a flying wheel. When the smoke screen passed, the group discovered Sonzo lying on the shattered remains of Kadaj's bike with Zeenint holding the hedgehog by his long quills.

"Is that...?" Amy questioned.

"I thought you were the smart one, Nazo." Zeenint said menacingly. "Long hair isn't a very good compliment for a battle."

"Not like I had a choice." Sonzo mumbled.

The emerald master lifted the ruby-red warrior by his quills and started swinging him around in circles before finally releasing him. The mixed hedgehog was sent flying through the trees and burst through the sheet walls of a nearby tent, thankfully landing on a soft mattress. He heard a couple of screams and saw people fleeing the tent, but that was the least of his problems. Zeenint ripped through the tent walls, but Sonzo pressed his feet into the master's chest and kicked him overhead, thrusting him into the roof. The tent was sent flying along with the emerald master, who found himself tangled upon landing. Zeenint used Chaos Blade to rip a hole through the sheet, where he learned Sonzo was waiting for him with a large red arrow between his palms.

"Take it like a man!" Sonzo smirked. "**Chaos Lance!**"

The mixed hedgehog thrusted the power arrow, only to be disappointed as Zeenint twirled out of the way. Amy and the others dived out of the way as the Chaos Lance shot past them and eradicated what was left of Kadaj's bike. Zeenint kicked off the ground and grabbed Sonzo by the wrist and attempted to flip him over. However, Sonzo amazingly caught himself as the former master threw him down and twisted his hand around to grab Zeenint's wrist.

"**Chaos Control!**" Sonzo shouted.

And once again, the godly warrior disappeared in a flash of light. Amy and the other heroes stared with stunned expressions with the exception of Kadaj, who had just arrived after missing the whole thing.

"Hey, guys, watcha staring at?" Kadaj asked in a bored manner. His expression was then transformed to pure anguish when he caught sight of the hollowed remains of his cycle. "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY BIKE?!?!?!"

* * *

The scene alternates to gusty hillside of Windy Valley, or what's left of it. Because the windmills of the grassy plain was the only power supply to the nearby town, Zeenint's assault had left everyone in the dark, literally. Fortunately, the townspeople were working on repairing the structures after enlisting the help of some famous mercenaries. Team Virtex had originally been called in by the Sonic Heroes to assist with the reconstruction, but Rector couldn't pass up turning this into a business opportunity. Howl was sent to cut wood, Marine handled the supplies, Hybrid became the battery for the equipment, Marine was on medical staff, Shade monitored the progress, and Rector did the heavy lifting. Right now, Team Virtex was on brake after handling a particularly difficult problem.

"I can't believe you knocked six workers all because you saw a spider." Shade sighed at her lover.

Ok, maybe difficult was a bit exaggerated.

"I couldn't help it; I freaked out." Rector said pathetically. "It was moving all eight o those creepy black legs. Animals are not meant to have that many legs!"

"And so comes the end of our 'brave' leader." Howl joked.

The team of mercenaries laughed at the sulking leader until they heard a thunderous boom from one of the windmills currently under construction. Team Virtex swiftly jumped to action and approached the smoking tower, where they discovered Sonzo floating across from the destruction, looking ready to fight. Just as the team of mercenaries stood for battle, Zeenint suddenly shot out and grabbed the hedgehog by the neck before slamming him into the ground.

"Who are those supposed to be?" Raine asked.

"I don't know, mate." Marine said shakily. "But they look really scary."

I can't put my finger on it, but something looks familiar about that hedgehog." Hybrid commented.

Meanwhile, Sonzo grappled Zeenint in a strength of wills, attempting to force one another back with pure strength. But the emerald master was not known for playing fair. While Sonzo was distracted in trying to keep his opponent at bay, Zeenint lifted his foot and thrusted it into the hedgehog's leg. The crimson warrior cried out as he felt the bones in his knee shatter upon impact, forcing him to release his hold. Zeenint capitalized on this by raised his knee to the hedgehog's chin, forcing him skyward. But before Sonzo could get a few feet into the air, the human Sovereign swiftly snatched his leg and tossed him backwards into the hillside. Sonzo remained dazed for a moment, but gathered enough common sense to coating his palm in healing energy and run it over his shattered kneecap.

"_I don't know why you have this, but it comes in handy._" Sonic said.

"_Fool!_" Nazo scowled. "_Only someone as pathetic as you would need this kind of power. If don't fight with full force, not even my powers will be enough to help you._"

"Geez, I never realized I whined so much." Sonzo groaned as he stood up. After shaking his mind clear of distraction, the mixed hedgehog noticed something was missing. "Hey, where did, tall, green, and ugly run off to?"

"Oh, that was very witty."

Sonzo's attention was redirected towards the sky, where Zeenint hovered loftily with both palms open. In that one instant, Zeenint released a wall of energy spheres that could easily outclass Marine's expertise. The horde of energy was moving too fast for Sonzo to dodge all of them, so he had to play defensively. The mixed hedgehog clapped his hands together and formed a dome of red energy around his body, effortlessly reflecting Zeenint's power. The former master himself was growing more frustrated with this elusive rodent. At the moment the shield went down, Zeenint used his advanced speed and appeared at the crimson warrior's side not a moment later. The former master jab his hand for the hedgehog's heart, but was unexpectedly captured into Sonzo's hand. Zeenint tried the same tactic with his other hand, only to be met with a similar result.

"I must admit, I haven't had this much trouble dealing with an enemy since my own sister." Zeenint grinned devilishly. "Do me a favor and say hello to Haleya and Kainek for me."

"You can tell them yourself." Sonzo grinned. Zeenint struggled to break free before noticing a faint red aura collecting around the hedgehog's body. "**Chaos Blast!!**"

A nuclear red explosion captured the two fighters and their surroundings, but was limited by the hedgehog's power. Rector and Team Virtex were able to endure the shock of the explosion and watched ominously until the dome of destruction began to fade away. When the chaos had passed all that was left behind was a twenty foot long indent in the Earth – Sonzo and Zeenint had long disappeared.

"Where' they go, mate?" Marine asked curiously.

"That green one must have used Chaos Control to escape before the blast went off." Shade theorized. "It wouldn't surprise me judging by the speed and power they both have."

"That hedgehog looked a lot like Nazo." Howl commented. "I don't know whether to by happy or worried."

"Either way, it doesn't look too good on both sides." Rector said seriously. "Get in contact with Shadow and Silver."

* * *

The scene finally returns to the Master Emerald shrine of Angel Island. A spark of green light formed over the broken fragments of the former Master Emerald, which released Sonzo and Zeenint on the land. Both warriors jumped away in opposite directions, skidding backwards without leaving their eyes off their opponent. Sonzo was panting heavily, suffering from the backlash of using Chaos Blast unprepared – only Shadow had every truly master the technique. In addition to exhaustion, his clothes were ripped raggedly, his left pant leg was stained in blood, and his right cheek was severally bruised. All the way, Zeenint didn't seem any different from the beginning – not ever his coat was dirty.

"Looks like you're quickly running out of energy." Zeenint said confidently. "A pity, really. And here I was hoping that I would be able to drag this out a little longer."

"I've got..." Sonzo panted tiredly. "Enough strength...to fight...you."

"But do you really?" Zeenint questioned, raising his hand as if to demonstrate. "You had to fight me, deflect my power, formed a barrier of Chaos, and performed a number of high-leveled techniques. Even if you are fused together, you must have your limits."

"_He's right._" Sonic said within Sonzo's mind. "_We've been fighting all out and Zeenint hasn't even broken a sweat. What kind of guy is he?_"

"You see, unlike you, my power is not limited." Zeenint stated certainly. "I draw power from the darkness of every living creature on this planet. And darkness exists within everything. You can't win."

"Not alone, perhaps!"

Zeenint merely smirked at the serious tone of the voice as an electrified claw stabbed through his chest, directly over his heart. Metal Sonic increased the intensity in his left claw while pressing his right claw through the master's spine. And to add further interest, the golden-eyed Rouge loomed over Zeenint's shoulder and stabbed her fangs into the human's neck. Despite being puncture in two vital places and having his blood drained, Zeenint didn't really seem all that phased.

"Are you quite done?" Zeenint questioned. "I have other things to do before I destroy this planet."

"Destroy it?" Sonzo repeated. "But I thought you needed the darkness of the people to become powerful."

"There are more planets than Earth, rat." Zeenint said malevolently. "This world all those that will come after it will serve as martyrs for its next ruler."

"What are you talking about?" Metal asked.

"I suppose you have a right to know before you die." Zeenint chuckled. "As you may recall, the Highest One sealed me away in that hedgehog form because he felt my rising power and forced himself awake. That was only partly true. You see, after I had killed Kainek, I obliterated the world he lived on as well – sort of a funeral in his name. But at the moment Kainek's planet was destroyed, I felt the Highest One's power for a small moment. That when the ultimate secret of the Highest One: his weakness."

"His weakness?" Rouge mumbled into Zeenint's neck.

"I tested this theory out for a moment and it proved successful." Zeenint continued. "I learned that when Orphius and Mythril created the planets, they added their own life force to create life on those world. And it was then I resolved my true objective. I no longer wished to be the sole Sovereign, I wished to be the Highest One himself!"

"But how could you match the strength of a real god?" Metal questioned.

"Orphius wasn't killed, only fragmented." Zeenint explained. "If the Highest One had gone through with the death of his brother, someone would have to replace him to balance to stability of the universe. Mythril couldn't kill him because whoever kills a god must be the one to replace him."

"That's why you want to destroy the world!" Sonzo exclaimed in realization. "You want to weakened Mythril just enough so that you can overpower him! And once he's dead, you become the new Highest One!"

"Exactly!" Zeenint cackled. "And thanks to the contribution of the Chaos Emeralds, I can ascend to a level of power like never before! When I broke free from my shell, I only used the essence of light to shatter it! But that still leaves the darkness!"

Sonzo, Metal, and Rouge's eyes were wide in horror. If Zeenint had been allowed to absorb the energy of the Chaos Emeralds, nothing would be able to stop him. Metal increased the intensity of his Metal Surge to its maximum and Rouge bite down hard until she was touching bone. Thought severely weakened, Sonzo forced himself to himself to jumped ahead with a mass of Chaos Energy compressed into his fist. But it was futile. The emerald master released a pulse of energy from his body, throwing all three allies back to the ground. After being sure that he would not be interrupted, Zeenint glanced over to the glistening Chaos Emerald, summoning their powers. The seven gems of miracles were reduced to a dull shade of grey as the darkness was drained from them – leaving behind an empty shell – and seeped through Zeenint's skin.

"I have awaited this moment for an eternity!" Zeenint roared madly. "Witness the true power of god!!"

With the darkness of the Chaos Emeralds coursing through his veins, Zeenint's body began to expand at an unbelievable rate. He gained an extra two feet in height, his eyes were entirely blank, and his muscular mass was five times larger than before, ripping his coat and bracers to shreds. Zeenint had become the one thing the universe had feared – a true God of Destruction.

"This is impossible." Sonzo muttered horrifically. "No one is suppose to be the powerful. No one!"

"Now you understand better what you are dealing with." Zeenint grinned manically. "The truth hurts, doesn't it? Now you have come to realize it. Sonzo, Metal, Rouge – all of your powers together are no match before the strength I have obtained. Although your speed is greater, you cannot overpower me."

"No..." Sonzo groaned, weakly pushing to his knees. "I can't...let it end this way."

"But it's too late." Zeenint proclaimed. "I know all about the fusion technique and I know you can only keep that form for thirty minutes. We have been fighting for at least twenty, which leaves only ten minutes remaining. And besides..." At that moment, Sonzo lost his Mega Form. His standard form looked exactly like Nazo, but with curve quills and cobalt lines like Sonic. "You're all out of energy."

"I can't...let it end this way." Sonzo groaned.

"Think of it this way." Zeenint grinned darkly. "Angel Island will be the first thing to be destroyed, which means you won't be around to witness your greatest failure." He held one hand into the air, gathering a large amount of green Chaos Energy. "Now witness your end. **Ragnarok!!**"

The compressed energy was forced into a sphere, which gradually expanded as its master deposited more energy. And in less than a minute, the sphere had grown to the size of a full moon. Sonzo, thought feeling certain that he couldn't block such a technique, preferred to die standing up than lying on the ground like a dog. Zeenint was amazed at how determined the hedgehog was and decided not to delay him any longer. The future master of the universe tossed the Ragnarok towards the Earth, sealing its fate.

**

* * *

**

The ultimate battle for the fate of the universe draws to a conclusion. Will Sonzo be able to prevent ultimate destruction? Is there anything that can stop this invincible god? Or has Zeenint finally succeeded? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!

**Please, read and review.**


	99. Master of the Emerlds, Part 5

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Part 5 of 5 of the Zeenint Saga

Chapter Ninety-Nine: Master of the Emeralds, Part 5

The scene returns to the skies within the leafy plains of Angel Island. Zeenint had accomplished his goal of collecting the darkness from the Chaos Emeralds and achieved a power that could compare to a god. And as the battle continued to rage on, the chances of his defeat seemed less likely. Rouge and Metal's combined efforts were useless against the former master and Sonzo had been reverted back to his standard form. And to make things worse, he only had ten minutes left for the fusion to hold its form.

"I can't...let it end this way." Sonzo groaned.

"Think of it this way." Zeenint grinned darkly. "Angel Island will be the first thing to be destroyed, which means you won't be around to witness your greatest failure." He held one hand into the air, gathering a large amount of green Chaos Energy. "Now witness your end. **Ragnarok!!**"

The emerald sovereign raised his hand to the sky as he gathered a large quantity of green chaos energy compacted into the shape of a sphere. And within seconds, the sphere had expanded itself to the size of a full moon. As the legendary tyrant continued to feed his attack with unlimited energy, Sonzo forced himself to his feet in the face of peril.

"_So, anymore brilliant ideas?_" Nazo questioned sarcastically.

"_Hey, we're still alive, right?_" Sonic said lightly. "_We just need to come up with a new plan, that's all._"

"_We're only alive because Zeenint allowed it._" Nazo proclaimed defiantly. "_Look at the facts – we're powerless, Zeenint is a god, and he's about to blow up the entire planet. In a matter of days, he'll become the new Highest One._"

"A_ren't you a little ray of sunshine?_" Sonic said sarcastically.

"Giving up already?" Zeenint taunted as he stared down at Sonzo's motionless form. "I would have thought you would at least put up some kind of resistance."

"Hey, it's not over until the fat lady sings." Sonzo smirked. "Whoops, I'd didn't mean to bring your mother into this."

"My siblings and I were born from the collective energies of the universe." Zeenint said bluntly; Sonzo sweat dropped. "We have no mothers. I grow tired of your remedial jokes, so..." He threw his hand down, releasing his collective energy. "DIE!!"

The Ragnarok slowly descended upon the floating island – it course was aimed directly for Sonzo. Though against her will, Rouge was forcefully dragged into the forest by Metal Sonic, hoping that some parts of the island would be left intact. But the mixed hedgehog was not as fortunate. Having spent all his energy battling Zeenint across the world, Sonzo could do no more than stand and watch as the energized sphere drew closer. Catching the Ragnarok seemed like an option, but not even he was powerful enough to stop that. Sonzo only sighed and closed his eyes to await the impact.

"Well, we had a good run." Sonzo said defeated. "Maybe since I'm a fusion of Sonic and Nazo, the Council of Death won't send me to hell."

"How about instead of sleep, you help out a bit!" A new voice shouted frustrated. "This damn thing is heavy!"

"Let me ease it a little." A kind voice said.

Sonzo's ears perked at the noise – he knew those voices. Looking back to the Ragnarok, the mixed hedgehog shockingly discovered Rector Rose holding the emerald sphere in place with Silver assisting with his psychic powers. The one thing that really set it off was the fact that both of them were in their Super Forms. Silver was no surprise since he had mastered the Super Form, but Rector was inexperienced with the technique. Speaking of whom, the metallic-gold hedgehog brought one hand back, curled it into a fist, and thrusted it into the Ragnarok. The force of the attack shot the Ragnarok back towards its creator, who effortlessly tossed the emerald sphere into space. Zeenint growled spitefully at the fact that more hedgehogs – his most hated species – were interfering with his conquest.

"These loathsome animals." Zeenint hissed furiously. "They just don't know when to quit."

"You ok, Sonic?" Silver asked.

"The name's Sonzo." Sonzo panted tiredly. "And I've seen better days, but I'm fine. But the real question is: what are you two doing here?"

"My team and I were watching you fight that green-haired punk in Windy Valley." Rector explained, ripping off the glove that was burned by the Ragnarok. "We figured that you might be involved in some S-Class trouble, so we decided to send a message to everyone else. Amy and Kumori also saw you in Emerald Town."

"Shadow followed your energy trail and told everyone available to help." Silver continued. "But since most of us are still restoring the places destroyed by that hedgehog, there weren't many who were able to help out."

"So what's with the Super Form?" Sonzo asked Rector. "The Chaos Emeralds have lost their energies, so you shouldn't be able to transform."

"We figured since this guy was going after the Chaos Emeralds, there was an unlike chance of getting them back." Rector stated seriously as he watched Zeenint. "So the only way we could open the Super Form was to absorb some excess energy from someone who could already transform. Since Shadow had the most energy of everyone on the team, he was the most likely candidate."

"Where is Shadow?" Sonzo asked.

"He couldn't come." A new voice said; Sonzo felt pressure on his back. "Don't move too much or it will take longer to heal your body properly."

Sonzo said clueless for a moment before he felt a flow of smooth energy run through his veins, giving his muscles relief. The mixed hedgehog looked over his shoulder to the female. She was a feminine hedgehog with bright-golden fur, head-quills with black stripes, and three bangs sticking from her forehead. She wore a white sleeveless shirt, a black vest with pink linen around the sleeves, white silk pants with a pink sash around the waist, and a pair of dark shoes. Though this was the first time she was ever seen in a Super Form, both sides of Sonzo could easily recognize her.

"Kurami..." Sonzo sighed.

"Hold still before I beat you senseless!" Kurami shouted irritably. "You might be half of Sonic, but it's the other half that makes you just as bad as that green guy."

"So much for gratitude." Sonzo murmured.

"Grr...more rodents." Zeenint snarled. He watched down upon the collective hedgehog while gathering energy into his right hand. "The quicker I get rid of them, the quicker I can become the Highest One!"

The emerald master thrusted his hand forward, summoning an arrow of green Chaos Energy. But before he had a chance to release his attack, a sudden white blur passed over Zeenint's arm, sending an electrical current running through his spine. Zeenint quickly brushed this off. Due to the electrical impulses, his thoughts drifted towards Metal for a moment. That was before Hybrid dropping into view with his legendary Hyper Form ready for battle.

"Hmm..." Zeenint hummed curiously. "I'm not familiar with you. What is your name, rat?"

"For starter's I'm not a rat." Hybrid glared. "Second, my name is Hybrid the Hedgehog. I am a genetic experiment formed from the blood of Sonic, Shadow, and Silver the Hedgehog. Now you'll know who you're messing with."

"So you would call yourself another fusion." Zeenint said irritably. "You rats just keep multiplying. Perhaps it's time you were properly exterminated."

The muscle-bound master dived ahead with his fist raised and swung around for a direct assault to Hybrid's chest. But before the attack could make a connection, the pure-white hedgehog vanished without a trace. While Zeenint searched left and right for him, the emerald master gained an insight of Hybrid's location when he felt something pound against his back. Hyper Hybrid tried attack the Sovereign with an electrical-charged fist to the spine, but found it to be ineffective. The emerald master swiftly jabbed his elbow backwards, only to be disappointed about his near miss. He swiftly turned around to find the pure-white hedgehog drifting absently just a few feet ahead.

"You're quite the speedy little rodent." Zeenint smirked threateningly. "But then again, I wouldn't expect anything less from the formation of Sonic and Shadow."

"Actually, I was created without their powers." Hybrid said. "But by charging my neural synapses with electricity, I can amplify my own reflexes and agility. The only problem is that I can use it unless I'm in my Hyper Form."

"You're also very smart." Zeenint compliment. Hybrid's eyes shot wide with terror when he realized the Sovereign was directly behind him. "But that will only get you so far."

Before the hedgehog could figure out what had occurred, Zeenint slapped both hands on each side of Hybrid's head, leaving him dazed. After making sure the hedgehog wouldn't run off, the muscle-bound Sovereign clasped both and over his head and drived it directly over Hybrid's spine. Any normal person would have died upon impact, but the genetic experiment was merely shot into the grounds of Angel Island. The hole left created by the defeated warrior was at least three feet deep and Hybrid was left unconscious – his Hyper Form had faded. The former master dropped close to where Hybrid had landed and reached his hand out for the fallen hero's throat. But at the last moment, Rector's hand wrapped around the sovereign's wrist.

"Don't even think about it." Rector sneered menacingly. "You will not lay one finger on my friend."

"And what do you plan to do about it?" Zeenint challenged.

"I'm gonna beat you to death!" Rector roared.

The strongest of the hedgehog was true to his words. Rector pushed the former master's hand aside and drilled his fist into Zeenint's abdomen, forcing the muscle-bound warrior to double over. Though he was much stronger than most, Zeenint had not prepared to fight someone with Rector's level of strength. Seeing an opportune moment, the Virtex leader gave a swift uppercut to the master and sent him soaring to the sky. But before he could even get six feet off the ground, Rector grabbed Zeenint's ankle and forced him to fall forward into the ground. The golden warrior jumped up and thrust his foot downwards over Zeenint's spine in hopes of snapping it in two. Unfortunately, the muscle-bound master flickered out of sight just seconds before he could hit. And by the time Rector realized this, his head was captured within Zeenint's hand.

"You miserable little insect!" Zeenint snarled. "I will take great pleasure in killing you."

Zeenint tightened his free hand into a fist and nailed Rector's back, forcing the golden hero to release a small gush of blood from his maw. The emerald master then tossed him overhead, only to perform a back flip and strike his opponent across the chin. Rector was shot across the field and through the forest until he was nestled in a brush of fallen trees. The ruby-red hedgehog deformed to his normal appearance with barely enough strength to raise his head. He really wished he didn't. Zeenint loomed over the fallen hero with a charged Chaos Lance aimed for the hedgehog's forehead.

"So the rat has finally found a place to die." Zeenint taunted. "It suits you. Buried under the dirt that will always have more value than yourself."

"You won't win." Rector said defiantly. "In the end, only those who fight for what's right will emerge victorious."

"Heh! You've been reading too much comic!" Zeenint cackled. "Now shut up and die!"

Zeenint' expelled the Chaos Lance, only to have it suddenly reflected and bounced back towards himself. Reacting swiftly, the emerald master raised his forearm to block the strike effectively; though he did suffer a minor burn. And without him realizing it, Zeenint found himself being lifted off the ground and tossed back into the plain close to the emerald shrine. Zeenint safely landed on his feet while Silver hovered closer towards the ground with his hand raised firmly.

"That's as far as you go, monster." Silver glared.

"Ah, Silver the Hedgehog." Zeenint said calmly. "The mighty savior from the future. Of everyone, you're the one I wanted to meet the most."

"How do you know me?" Silver questioned suspiciously.

"I know a lot about you, Silver the Hedgehog." Zeenint spoke with a mystical tone. "More than you even know about yourself or the world around you." He started to chuckled humorously. "You may not know it, but you play a big part in the final conflict."

"Final...conflict?" Silver questioned confused.

"Unfortunate, you're too big of a threat." Zeenint said, clenching his fist. "If you are allowed to live for too long, you'll become a nuisance in the future. You'll have to be dealt with."

While Silver was distracted by the conversation, Zeenint secretly deposited a large quantity of Chaos Energy into the ground through his feet. However, Silver detected this and clapped his hands together in order to create a barrier of psychic energy. This defense was served well as Zeenint's energy exploded into a column of light, shooting the energetic hedgehog into the sky. The futuristic warrior released his barrier and caught himself in midair at the same moment Zeenint appeared to his side. The emerald master drived his fist for Silver's throat, but the golden hero twisted around his hand and captured the tyrant's wrist under his arm. The Sovereign tried to pull back his hand, but the psychic warrior refused to release. Silver's fist ignited with an aura of silver energy as he threw a punch directly for Zeenint's face. However, the emerald master grasped his wrist and pulled it to the side, locking both warriors' arms into place.

"Looks like we're at a stalemate." Silver grunted.

"Actually, that's a matter of one's perspective." Zeenint smirked victoriously. "If I had been taking you seriously, you would have died the first few seconds we were fighting. But where's the fun in that?"

"You won't win." Silver said defiantly; he could feel Zeenint starting to push him back. "Even if I am defeated, Sonzo will still have the strength to take you out. And if he doesn't, I'll use all that is within my power to destroy you."

"_Within his power, huh?_" Zeenint thought seriously. "_He still doesn't realize the unfathomable power that lies within the depths of his heart. Iblis – the Flames of Disaster. If he learns to control that beast, he will be closer to god than even I. After I deal with the fusion hedgehog, I'll kill this rat next._"

The Sovereign forward between his arms and held his leg outwards. The last thing Silver saw was a leather boot before his world went black. Back on the ground, Kurami had just finished healing Sonzo, who was testing his body. The bruise on his right cheek had been restored, the bones in his left leg had been realigned, and his fatigue had disappeared. But even so, he couldn't push himself to regain his Mega Form – not even his Super Form worked.

"Well, I'm better to say the least." Sonzo said disappointed. "But why can't I transform? I can't take out Zeenint without the Mega Form."

"Chaos Heal can only relieve wounds and fatigue." Kurami said exasperatedly. "I can't do anything about regenerating your Chaos Energy. I thought that the Nazo part of your brain would have told you that."

"You can't expect me to know everything." Sonzo muttered irritably.

"This couldn't get any better."

Kurami and Sonzo turned on their heels as Zeenint approached them from the left – Silver was left unconscious on the ground behind him. The emerald master raised his palm open towards the heroes and unleashed a series of green arrows to be familiarized as Chaos Spear. Without having much Chaos Energy left over from the previous battle, Sonzo couldn't afford wasting anymore energy on defending himself. Kurami seemed to be thinking along the same lines and jumped between him and the wall of arrows. The feminine fusion interlocked her finger and formed a circle with her hands – Zeenint could be seen through the shape. Both sides of Sonzo's mind recognized the attack as a compressed amount of golden energy filled the hole within her hands.

"Suck on this!" Kurami exclaimed. "**Chaos Wave!!**"

A golden beam expelled from Kurami's hand with such ferocity that his pushed the fusion female back several feet. All the Chaos Spears were obliterated in that instant and made its way towards it originator. Zeenint nonchalantly continued to walk ahead without caring for the incoming strike. The radiant beam made contact with the Sovereigns chest and exploded, but Zeenint continued to walk through it like it was only a gentle breeze. Though it seemed like a definite failure, Kurami relentlessly unleashed a series of Chaos Waves at the emerald master until she was too weak to release another. And by that time, Zeenint was already looming over her with only a burn mark around his scar.

"You're optimistic, I'll give you that." Zeenint said monotonously. "But if there is one thing I hate, its failing hope."

The Sovereign raised his hand overhead and swiped it down furiously, causing Kurami to consequently react. The feminine fusion raised her forearm to block Zeenint's strike and felt a great wave of pain course through her veins. With his bare hands, Zeenint had amputated Kurami's left arm. The hedgehog in question had dropped to her knees, holding the bleeding stump.

"Ah, damn it!" Kurami screeched horrifically. "Not again!!"

"Kurami!" Sonzo cried.

"She has the power to heal herself." Zeenint stated coldly. Without much care, he ruthless smacked Kurami across the face, sending her tumbling across the ground. "If I were you, I would be more concerned about yourself. I took out your little group and you're the only one left standing. And worst off, you have nothing left."

"But I do have something left." Sonzo growled. "Something worth fighting for. That makes me stronger than you'll ever be."

"You think this is some fairy tale?" Zeenint glared. "You honestly expect to believe that having someone to sacrifice your life over will bring you a worthwhile existence. That is a farce. Only those whole fight and love themselves with understand the value of true strength."

"Then how do you explain getting your tail handed to you by Aero." Sonzo smirked.

"I've had just about enough of you." Zeenint glared, pulling back his fist. "Say hello to my siblings in hell!" The emerald master threw his fist forward, only to have it captured by a familiar pair of claws. "You just don't know when to qui, you irritable machine."

Metal Sonic had jumped in the way of Zeenint's strike and captured the Sovereign's hand within his own. But despite his best defenses, the metallic doppelganger was forced to his knees with sparks flying from his claws.

"Metal?" Sonzo questioned.

It's funny." Metal murmured lowly. "And this time, I had at least expected to be destroyed by your hands instead of this disgusting failure as a guardian. But I've lived a good life – I found love, raised a child, made friends, and even earned my own arch-enemy. I'd say that's a job well done."

"What are you talking about?" Sonzo asked fearfully.

"The only regret is that i was never able to defeat you, Sonic the Hedgehog." Metal said mournfully. "But for what it's worth, you were the greatest rival I ever had. Just promise me one thing..." He turned his gaze back to the fusion hedgehog. "Don't you dare die to him. I'll never forgive you."

"If you're quite though..." Zeenint scowled.

In that one instant, the emerald master opened his palm and unleashed a wave of green energy – Sonzo was horrified. The metallic doppelganger that had served as Sonic's rival was unfortunately captured within the blast and slowly ripped apart. Metal's head was shredded into miniscule scraps, his upper body was obliterated within the blast radius, and blood was splattered across the ground. For a fraction of a moment, Sonic could see the beating heart that served as Metal's core before it was reduced to nothingness. As the remaining legs dropped to the ground with a thud – the cape unknowingly cloaked it as a sign of respect – the horrible truth was realized.

Metal Sonic was dead.

"Such a nuisance." Zeenint commented as he rubbed his wrist. "Now, where'd we leave off."

"That...that's not right." Sonzo huffed; his shoulders were shaking rigidly. "He had so much to live for; he had a family that loved him. Zeenint..." The Sovereign in question stepped backwards when he felt a sudden flare of energy emerge from the enraged hedgehog. "I am going to make you pay for all the people you have tormented. Aero...Heat...Obsiden...Lightra...Metal – in their honor....I will kill you."

"What are you?" Zeenint asked fearfully as the hedgehog's power spiked further.

"I am the hope of the universe!" Sonzo roared. "I am the one who will unify the light and the darkness and destroy you! Because if I don't....WHO WILL?!?!?!"

The energies that had collected within the hedgehog were forcefully ejected from his spine and scattered around him. The energies were separated into thirteen trails of colored light and turned their attention toward the emerald master. The Sovereign was shocked beyond belief when the thirteen energies reformed into the shape of thirteen serpentine dragons. Each dragon had its own expression along with its own color: black, gold, yellow, blue, crystal, grey, white, brown, green, red, orange, purple, and light-blue. ***hint, hint***

"What the hell are you?!" Zeenint screamed.

"I really hate repeating myself." Sonzo grimaced, raising his hand. "**Chaos...Spark!!**"

Upon his command, the thirteen dragons opened their jaws and released a separate element from within its body. Zeenint was too stricken by fear to move and left himself wide open for an attack. The thirteen elements collided with one another, forming a towering dome of mixed energies that seemed powerful enough to wipe out the entire island. Fortunately, Sonzo had commanded the dragons to suppress their attacks so that it only charred the field. The energized dome evaporated a moment later, leaving only a thirty foot crater in its place. With their mission complete, the thirteen dragons evaporated into the air and Sonzo dropped to his knees in exhaustion. Sonzo remained as he was for a short minute before Kurami, who was halfway finished in repairing her arm, kneeled next to him.

"That was incredible." Kurami said admirably. "I can't believe you took him out with that."

"I...didn't." Sonzo stated tiredly. "Zeenint got away at the last moment."

"What are we going to do then?" Kurami questioned. "How are we going to find him?"

"That's already taken care of." Sonzo grunted. "He was in such a hurry to escape that he forgot to cover his trail. I can use Chaos Control to find him in time before the fusion wears off." He touched his heart, clearly trying to sense his energy length. I've got about one minute left. Better make it count."

And with that, he vanished in a flash of green light.

* * *

The scene alternates to the other side of the universe within a field of asteroids surrounding a nearby planet. A flash of green light erupted on one of the asteroids and revealed the shaken form of Master Zeenint. The human Sovereign was holding his chest and breathing hard as he recovered from the shock of Sonzo's sudden counterassault.

"That was too close." Zeenint growled furiously. "That damn hedgehog somehow gained a new power I never realized was possible. Oh well, it's only a minor setback. I'll continue destroying the planets until I become the newest Highest One. Then when I have the power of the universe, I will destroy them next time."

"There won't be a next time!" The shaken human sharply turned on his heels as Sonzo appeared across from him in a flash of light. "This is the end for you, Zeenint. We'll settle the score one and for all."

"How long do you plan to keep this up, hedgehog?" Zeenint chuckled malevolently. "We are two gods locked in an eternal struggle within the realm of mortals. The longer we fight, the more powerful we'll become. You should realize by now that our war will never end!"

"_Not until I take it to within my own hands._" A booming voice echoed.

"What the?" Sonzo stammered, looking around the asteroid. "What was that?"

"The Highest One..." Zeenint gasped. "He has awakened from his slumber."

"_And it is through your doing, Zeenint._" Mythril echoed powerfully. "_I once thought that transforming you into the creature you despised the most would change your ways. But my plan had only fueled the fires of hatred within your heart. That was my own mistake, which I will now correct._"

"What are you saying?" Zeenint questioned.

"_Zeenint of the Northern Quadrant._" Mythril announced. "_I, Mythril the Highest One, relinquish your powers as Sovereign!_"

At the moments his words were heard, the emerald master double over in pain, screaming in bloody murder. Sonzo jumped back at the former Sovereign's reaction, not noticing the thick trail of Chaos Energy escaping from his muscular form. But the longer he watched, the more Sonzo realized he was getting weaker. Zeenint's muscular mass returned to its regular shape and his once-emerald hair was reduced to a mess of thick black hair. Zeenint panted heavily – his powers drained and his body weak from exhaustion.

"This...this can't be happening!" Zeenint yelled furiously. "That's supposed to be my power! Give it back!"

"You want it, you got it." Sonzo smirked. The mixed hedgehog held his palm and summoned a mass of Chaos Energy, which he compressed into a familiar sphere. "Looks like it's the end of the line. You know, if you had used your power for good instead of evil, the universe could have been a better place. But then again, we can't have everything."

Zeenint could neither speak nor move. The ultimate realization had struck him – he was powerless. The former master sighed in defeat and lowered his head and Sonzo dashed across the asteroid and unleashed a fresh wave of pure energy through his chest. The emerald master could only watch as his body was slowly deteriorated into the depth of space with only these final words to be hard.

"**Sonic Wind!!**"

* * *

The scene returns to the sweet haven of Earth and stopped on the floating landmass of Angel Island. Kurami, who had fully healed her arm, was working restlessly to heal her comrades and regain her consciousness from expending her energies. Rouge was keeping herself busy by gathering the remnants of Metal Sonic, who had become a good friend to her after such a short while.

"You always said you were evil." Rouge muttered sadly. "But in the end, you were a hero like everyone else."

"Hey, what's happening to the emerald?" Rector questioned.

"The what?" Rouge answered confused.

The ruby-red hedgehog pointed to the shrine of the Master Emerald to emphasize his point. Much to the surprise of everyone there, the Chaos Emeralds regained their natural color and the Master Emerald shards started to culminate together. Piece by little piece, the shards reformed its original structure until the Master Emerald was once again whole. This was a sign to everyone that Zeenint had finally been defeated. And to further the celebration, Knuckles, Tikal, Blue, and Chaos had finally escaped their fragmented prisons and landed on top of one another at the top step of the shrine.

"Ugh...did anyone get the license off that truck?" Blue mumbled.

"I thought it was a typhoon." Tikal said shakily.

After regaining their senses, the missing four rejoined their friend at the base of the shrine. Rouge was unable to contain herself and jumped on the fiery echidna – tears of joy escaped from her eyes. It took several moments to pry the bat off her fiancé before they noticed a flash of light sparked just a few feet away from them. Sonzo had returned via Chaos Control just seconds before the fusion wore off, leaving Sonic and Nazo in his place. As naturally expected, the heroes cluttered around Sonic to congratulate him, leaving Nazo to be left alone.

"You did it, Sonic!" Silver shouted happily.

"I always had faith in you." Hybrid said certainly.

"Thanks, everyone." Sonic nodded. The cobalt hedgehog smiled merrily at his friends before noticing the God of Darkness slowly leaving. After pushing his friends to one side, Sonic cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted to his spiritual brother. "Yo, Naz! You better be ready because next time I'm taking you out, too!"

"Try if you must." Nazo scoffed. "My fate will turn out much different than Zeenint's. But..." He turned back to the cobalt hero, surprising everyone with a sincere grin. "I look forward to the day when it finally comes to an end."

From that day forward, the connection between brothers had been restored. Aero and Eise had been reborn and now the universe, and the Highest One, was safe from the threat of the cursed master.

Or were they?

* * *

The final scene alternates to the asteroid ring where Zeenint and Sonzo clashed for the final time. A Junker ship was carelessly drifting through the floating rocks while its owner was busy with its owner moving around in the back. The owner of the ship was a thin creature garbed in Arabian style clothing with a mask covering his shadowed face. The masked creature was polishing a canister was polishing a small canister with a dirty rag before replacing it on the shelf with the rest of its collection.

"Certainly is an interesting find." The creature chortled. "I'm sure it will fetch me a hefty sum of credits. But I'll bet it will get an even higher price on Griddlow."

The masked creature continued to laugh greedily and looked away from its latest acquisition to check on the rest of it inventor. The latest item of its collection was a heart contained in a canister of unknown liquid. But while the creature thought the heart was nothing ordinary, he failed to notice the green aura surrounding it.

*Thump, thump*

Darkness lived on.

**

* * *

**

The tyrant's reign has finally been brought to an end. Is this truly the last time we have seen Zeenint? Will the Sonic Heroes prepare for the final battle against Nazo? What will be the outcome of this great war? Find out on the series finale of Sonic Heroes!

**Please, read and review.**


	100. Heaven and Earth, Part 1

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Part 1 of 3 Finale Arc

All Characters © Respective Owners

Chapter One Hundred: Heaven and Earth, Part 1

There were many things that made this day memorable to Sonic the Hedgehog. This was the day his parent met on that fateful day over twenty years before. Four years ago, Sonic and Eggman battled for the first time and became archenemies for life. It was also the day that Shadow the Hedgehog was created through the combination of Black Doom and Prof. Gerald. But the greatest memory to Sonic was that, exactly one year ago, the Sonic Heroes had formed to battle Eggman and the Dark Rulers. So many things had happened over the past 365 day, but all stories must eventually come to a close.

The scene opens to the evergreen island just off the coast of the former Mystic Ruins. Shortly following Zeenint's defeat, the Master Emerald's power was seated at the top of the shrine with its seven servants resting on the pinnacles around it. In addition, the Sol Emeralds were placed by Blaze around the Master Emerald to commemorate the occasion. After such long planning, the day had finally come.

"They're finally getting married, eh?" Shadow smirked as the guests arrived on the island. "It took them long enough. I never really pegged Knuckles to be the patient type."

"And no one really thought you were the hero type." Silver smirked.

Yes, Knuckles and Rouge were finally getting married....again. After their disastrous first attempt, the Heroes had hoped to have a successful ceremony while Nazo was still weak from the battle against Zeenint. They went all-out and invited everyone they knew: Team Virtex, The Commander, Princess Elise, Shahra and Erazor, The Seven Seas Crew, Aleena and Stream, The Tournament Champions, the Bat Trio, and even Kadaj. Needless to say, they had their work cut out for them.

"Quite little island you have here." King complimented the hedgehogs; White had already taken his seat. "I never thought I would live to see the legendary Angel Island. It's the last piece of treasure from ancient times."

"Why are old men always stuck in the past?" Spade scoffed as he approached them. "Personally, I like the excitement and danger of the city over this green dumpster. It's too nice and flowery."

"No one asked you to be here, Daniels." Shadow hissed angrily. "Why don't you do us all a favor and leave?"

"Ok, let's not get too hasty here." Silver chuckled nervously. "This is supposed to Rouge's big day, Shadow. She would never forgive you if you started a fight on her special day."

The dark hedgehog glared at his younger friend out of the corner of his eye. Though Spade had proven that he was not evil and helped save the world against Ix's invasion, the bond of hatred shared between them had not been severed. Instead, the Ultimate Life-Form stepped aside and allowed the wolf and snake to walk by. Meanwhile, Rector, Shade, and Howl were sitting beneath the shade of the tress, talking animatedly with Kyira Kitsune and Princess Elise.

"I must say, it's an honor to meet you, Princess." Shade bowed respectfully. "I am Shade the Echidna, daughter to Pachacamac and sister to Tikal, former Procurator of the Nocturnus Army."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Shade." Elise giggled absentmindedly. "But there is no reason to be formal. We're all friends here, so you can just call me Elise."

"Uh...right." Shade said embarrassingly.

"It's been a while, Kyira." Rector said kindly to the demon fox. "I hear you've been handling yourself well after dealing with Naga and fending off the remaining Nobodies on the island. I only regret that we weren't able to save your husband."

"Alaster Nyrox was a valiant warrior and a brave fool." Kyira smiled mournfully. "At the very least, he was able to see his family as a whole again before he died – He was happy." Her attention drifted to the wolf swordsman on her right. "I believe you were a student of his, correct?"

"I was." Howl nodded. "I don't think there will ever be another like Master Nyrox."

"I'm not so sure." Kyira grinned proudly. "If given twenty-four years of training, Kyuta might be able to reach the same level as his father or even surpass it. My daughter is much closer than her younger brother – she already has six tails in such a short period of time. I think the only one that has ever truly rivaled her was you, Howl the Wolf."

"Do I know your daughter?" Howl asked.

"You might..." A feminine voice chuckled.

Howl craned his head over his shoulder with his eyes nearly popping out of his skull. Aura Kitsune had drastically changed in terms of appearance since she had been invited to stay with the Sonic Heroes. Her fiery-orange fur was smoother than silk, her eyes were like glowing rubies, and her six tails twisted together to resemble one large tail. She wore a tight, sleeveless black shirt – showing off her...assets. – A pair of midnight-green pants, black open-toed shoes, and pair of fingerless white gloves. She also wrapped her wrists in white gauze and carried two separate swords on her back. She giggled as Howl continued to stare at her with a stupefied expression.

"What? Never seen a lady before?" Aura smirked.

"Who...are you?" Howl stammered.

"Oh, that's right; you've never seen my real face." Aura smiled joyfully. "The name's Aura Nyrox Kitsune, daughter to Alaster Nyrox and heir to the Kitsune Tribe." She grinned deviously. "But you may remember me as Xenot."

"Great Gaia of the heavens!!" Howl exclaimed shockingly. "You're Xenot?!?!"

"I thought you'd be surprised." Aura laughed. "Anyway, gotta go. Cream wants some advice about my brother."

The young half-demon slipped close to Howl's side and gave him a quick peck to the cheek before running off. The normally calm and collected warrior was now reduced to a stammering, unnerved puddle. Rector rubbed his hands with a greedy expression – this was perfect blackmail. At the same time, Kadaj, Rogue, and Gale were sitting close to the pool surrounding the Master Emerald shrine, exchanging tales of their adventures.

"At that's when the natives of Isle de Oro made me their chief." Gale finished dramatically. "That was until I took some valuable treasure or whatever and they kicked me out."

"Man, that totally sucked!" Kadaj complained loudly. "That's nothing compared to the stuff I've been through. I've fought against a guy with spiky hair using a humongous sword, nearly turned into roadkill, possessed by an evil spirit, absorbed into the Life Stream, and thrown back here. You cannot say your adventures are better than mine."

"Actually, I can." Gale said smugly. As he became absorbed in the argument, he noticed that the young bat had not said a word during the entire conversation. "Hey, kid, what's the matter? You've been awfully quiet."

"I was just thinking about Rouge." Rogue said sadly. "This is the last time she'll be living as a single woman."

"Oh, I get it." Kadaj grinned devilishly, budging the bat. "You're still upset that you're not the guy she's marrying. Though I will admit that it would make more sense. I can't really believe that a bat and an echidna are planning to reproduce."

"I know I said I was happy for Rogue." Rogue sighed heavily. "But the pain still doesn't stop."

"Maybe you should move on to another girl." Gale suggested. "I think that lady friend you were traveling with might be interested."

"Siren?" Rouge asked surprisingly, fiddling with his fingers. "Well, I...never really thought about that. I mean...she and I have been good friends for a while now, but...I don't know. It might be...a little awkward."

Gale and Kadaj only shook their heads, chuckling at the bat's expense. After several long moments of speaking with old friends, the awaited time had finally come. Tikal, who was garbed in scarlet patterned robe with a large headdress, announced that the ceremony was about to begin shortly. Everyone quickly took their seats and formed a row to the shrine, where Knuckles and Sonic were waiting patiently with the priestess. Both noble heroes were cloaked with tribal white marks as per tradition to the Knuckle Tribe ceremonies.

"How ya holding up, buddy?" Sonic grinned, patting his friends shoulder. "Ya nervous?"

"I am a proud warrior of the Knuckle Tribe." Knuckles said sternly. "We aren't afraid of such things as marriage."

"Then why are you legs shaking?" Sonic asked jokingly.

The echidna tried to maintain control over his limbs. And by the time Knuckles was able to stabilize himself, Rouge was already making her way down the row with Siren at her side. The vampire bat had altered her attire to a plain white shirt and a tribal-marked dress with sapphire-blue ring bracelets – she looked a lot like Tikal. Siren has discarded her armor for the occasion and actually fitted herself into a silky, ocean-blue gown – Phantom was wonder why his leader was staring at her. Rouge stood from her husband-to-be, smiling joyfully for the first time in a while.

"Looks like it finally time, huh?" Rouge said.

"I've been waiting a long time for this moment." Knuckles stated as he took his fiancé's hand.

"My friends and comrades!" Tikal preached. "We have come together for a most joyous of days! To bring this man and women together in eternal matrimony! If there is any who disagrees with the marriage, please proclaim your reason!"

"Why do I get the strange sense of déjà vu?" Sonic commented randomly.

"Aw, is it that obvious?"

Though the interruption was sudden, the Heroes were much more prepared than last time. A large ball of flames appeared directly overhead with its searing heat directed towards the soon-to-be-married couple. Aqua, who had been sitting in the front row, threw out her hands and expelled a jet of water from her palms. Steam rose upon contact with the flames, extinguishing them fireball in an instant. Having planned ahead of time, the Heroes jumped to the front of the shrine while their non-fighting friends took their places in the forest behind them.

"Why does this not surprise me?" Wrist grunted angrily.

"You've got some nerve coming here, Nazo!" Knuckles roared. "Especially after you ruined our last ceremony."

"Sorry, but I never been one for happy endings." Nazo called from within the steam cloud.

A shadow was spotted through the thick fog of steam – its arm was raised to one side. And in one swift motion, it was swept away by a short gust of wind, revealing the remaining members of the Dark Rulers. Nazo stood in the shadow of the Master Emerald with Mephiles sitting on top of the gem, Tomo standing sideways on one of the pinnacles, and Nack crouching on the stairs. The leader of the shadow organization chuckled malevolently while leaning against the giant gem.

"So, are we having fun yet?" Nazo said jokingly.

"What do you want this time?" Wave glared as she looked between them. "And aren't there supposed to be five of you losers left?"

"Shira has been feeling rather ill lately." Mephiles said defensively. "She will not be joining us today. And as for why we are here....well, what do you think the purpose of the Dark Rulers was for?"

"To rule the world obviously." Blue stated.

"See, I told you they wouldn't figure it out!" Nack shouted, pointing to Tomo. "You owe me twenty bucks!"

"What are you talking about?" Aura questioned.

"The plan for world domination was only a front for our true goal, which can be broken down to three steps." Nazo explained, holding three fingers to emphasize his point. "The first step was to recover my memories. Back when I attempted to recruit Metal into the Dark Rulers, he unintentionally stole a very important piece of my mind. Our priority from that point was to recover it. Fortunately, I was able to use Emerl and his lover as bargaining chips."

"Then came the second step." Mephiles continued. "Once Lord Nazo had recovered his memories, we would use them to free Zeenint from his prison."

"What?!" Sonic exclaimed shockingly. "You intentionally allowed him to break free?!"

"Zeenint was absorbing our Chaos; I just decided to give him a push." Nazo smirked. "I had no doubt in my mind that you would find some way to eliminate that old tyrant. And once he was out of the way, the Master Emerald would have no conscious mind to control it, leaving only an empty vessel. And with that, we move on to step three."

"What's step three?" Cream asked fearfully.

"To complete Zeenint's ambition!" Nazo exclaimed sadistically. "To become the Highest One and reshape the universe! And once I make the Master Emerald's power my own, I will travel across the cosmos and kill the one called Mythril!"

"But I thought you didn't care about domination." Hybrid said pointedly.

"I don't." Nazo stated certainly. "It was Mythril that created Zeenint, who formed the devastation that corrupted my world. The death of my brother, best friend, and lover all trace back to the Highest One. It's all because of him that any of it happened. The only thing I seek is revenge against the Highest One for allowing them to die."

"Well, you won't succeed!" Silver shouted defiantly. "The Highest One overpowered Zeenint and we'll stop you, too!"

"That's what differs me from that ancient fool." Nazo smirked. "The Highest One may be all-powerful, but he is forced to follow his own rules of creation. Mythril can only interfere with beings that he created directly. The universe was partially created by his brother, meaning he only controls half of the galaxies powers. The Highest One was able to manipulate Zeenint because he was created by the ancient god directly. But since I am not restricted to such limits..."

"The Highest One has no sway over you." King finished.

"Precisely." Nazo said, turning back to the Master Emerald. "Now you will just sit back as we take fate into our own hands."

"Yeah, you and what army?" Amelia glared.

The Dark Ruler chuckled at the question and stared down at them over his shoulder. Everyone could see Nazo devilish smirk stretched across his face as he raised his hand and snapped his fingers. All of a sudden, the sky was devoured by a swarm of miniature black vortexes, each dispersing a separate creature. The unknown beasts invaded Angel Island and surrounded the Master Emerald shrine along with the Sonic Heroes. As Sonic's eyes wandered over the savage army, he soon realized that he didn't recognize any of them. It was clear that Nazo had been creating these beasts for some time now. All the while, Mathias glared at his sister.

"You just had to ask, didn't ya?" Mathias hissed.

"Attack." Nazo said coolly.

The army of beasts jumped upon command and the heroes went to action. The Seven Seas Crew, who had nearly twenty years of experience fighting monsters, handle themselves fairly well. Kyira strangled nine separated beasts with her lengthy tails while grabbing two other monsters by the head and slamming them against one another. Vanilla was a decent fighter, though her skills have become a little rusted with age. The elderly rabbit slammed her heel into a beast that closely a lobster before flipping backwards and tossing a scythe-wielding demon. Accel and Mech were a formidable duo as they swerved back and forth between the rows of enemies with excellent precision. By the time they had breached the other side of blockade, nearly a fraction of Nazo's army had been decimated.

"Well, this is getting any easier." Vanilla panted.

"Maybe it's from all those heavy cloths." Accel grinned pervertedly. "Maybe you should slip out of that pesky little..." Mach thrashed his leader over the head before he could finish. "Damn it! What the hell was that for?!"

"This is no time to be making a move, Accel!" Mach snapped.

"You're just jealous because I get all the ladies!" Accel shouted.

"I'm surrounded by idiots." Kyira muttered.

Meanwhile, the remaining trio of the Seven Seas Crew was giving everything they had just to keep the demons at bay. Thorn was a tactical fighter, which meant he had very little physical skills. The middle-aged sorcerer had fallen back to using water magic, expelling large quantities from his mouth. The monsters stopped why their noticed they were ankle-deep in water, which proved to be disastrous once Thorn provided lightning magic. And for all the monsters that had managed to get past the sorcerer's magic, Gale and Wrist were able to provide close range support. Wrist stampeded through the dark army with his fists pressed ahead, plowing directly through the swarm. And for some of those smart enough to sidestep the assault, Gale delivered a powerful kick to their necks for each beast that approached them.

"This brings back old memories, doesn't it?" Gale said playfully as he jumped to Thorn's side.

"And by old memories, do you mean twenty years ago or three weeks?" Thorn asked rhetorically.

"Eh, whatever works?" Gale shrugged, looking out to the horde. "Hey, hothead, leave some for me!"

Thorn only sighed as his leader jumped headfirst into the crowd. Meanwhile, a group of six flying beasts were chasing Phantom across the sky. The emerald bat might not have been the brightest of the group, but he was a skilled warrior at best. The former Elite allowed the demons to chase him in the direction of the nearby mountains and phased through the structure – the demons stood no chance. Siren released a powerful screech, sending a wide selection of the demon army flying through the trees. However, the sapphire bat's throat was growing scratchy from the number of times she was forced to rely on her special powers. Sensing her weakness, a beast with a serrated blade growing out of its wrist jumped ahead and attempted to slash her throat. Siren shut her eyes shut with fear and awaited the strike – it didn't come. She cracked her eyes open slowly, finding her savior holding back the blade with his forearm.

"Rogue..." Siren said hoarsely.

"Siren, just stay down for a moment." Rogue said seriously. "I'll take care of these freaks."

"You think so, huh?" The sword beast growled. "Let's see those impressive moves of yours."

Quick as a flash, the demon drew a second blade from his wrist and slashed Rogue's chest. But the former elite effortlessly flipped over it and brought his heel down directly between the monster's eyes. Siren gazed in awe as the monster fell swiftly afterwards and Rogue stood ready to defend her – her cheeks gained a red tint. Meanwhile, Shahra was furiously repelling the demons with her magic, but it wasn't as effective as it would be in the Arabian Nights. After spotting an opening in her defenses, a tiger beats lashed forward with his claws toward the genie's chest. Fortunately enough, Erazor unleashed his old razor blade and decapitated the monster within seconds.

"Look what we have here, boys." A fire beast snarled. "The king of traitors has returned to the battlefield. You got some nerve showing your face around here, magic freak."

"And you have some nerve calling me a traitor." Erazor said; his eyes narrowed. "If you seek to advance any further, you must go through me."

"Not a problem, eh, boys!" The flame beast yelled.

The demon horde screeched in agreement – Erazor stabbed his blade into the leader's chest only seconds later. At the same time, Amelia was skipping through the tree tops with a number of chameleon-like creatures following her. A pair of orange lizards crawled up the trucks of their nearest trees and expelled twin jets of burning flames in the wolf's path. The skilled marksman caught this and quickly knocked a sapphire arrow in her bow and released it into the flames. The fire was surprisingly frozen upon contact, freezing the originators in blocks of solid ice in the process. Amelia curled herself as she shattered through the frozen blockade and the lizard demons continued their chase.

"Whew, that was a close one." Amelia commented. But at the moment she wasn't looking, she collided with a thick tree trunk. "That's gonna hurt in the morning."

King the Snake sat on the ground, drinking cup of green tea, and remaining oblivious to the events surrounding him. A pack of canine demons stopped when they noticed the blue-haired serpent drinking nonchalantly on the ground. King only continued to absorb his handmade tea when he noticed a flock of shadows surrounding him. The serpent merely sighed while gazing around at the approaching beasts.

"Look at this pathetic sap." A bull-dog demon grunted. "He's just sitting here, begging us to mug him." He snapped his fingers in the serpent's face. "Yo, buddy; you want us to massacre ya?

"Impatience and a closed mind will only lead to a path of self-destruction." King said sagely.

The demon dogs had no idea what the aged mystic was talking about, which only made them madder. Without thinking things through, the collective canine opened their jaws and snapped ahead to devour the serpent. But King counteracted this by summoning a vortex of flames to surround him, incinerating the demons in seconds. Meanwhile, Mercury staggered left and right while avoid strikes from various creatures around him. A few of the monsters were able to get a few lucky strikes by attacking the Black Arms cat with their weapons. But when a disfigured demon using a pair of enlarged scissors attack, Mercury flipped overhead with himself falling in the center of the group.

"Hmm...You guys have me surrounded." Mercury said calculative. "And you all carry metallic weapons used for close-range combat. This certainly creates a disadvantage."

"So are to ready to give up?" The scissors-wield beast asked.

"You have mistaken me." Mercury smirked. "When I was speaking of a disadvantage, I was talking about you." While the demons were stupefied by his proclamation, the Black Arms feline threw out his hands. And like a living magnet, Mercury called their metallic weapon to his side – they floated around his body as a shield. "Now, where were we again?"

At the same time Spade Daniels was forced into a corner after he had attempted to make a run for it. The selfish canine was only halfway from the shoreline when a flock of winged monsters dropped from the sky to block his path. Spade tried to run backwards, only to be cut off once again.

"Man, I knew this was going to be troublesome." Spade sighed irritably. "I should have just stayed in bed this morning."

"You're a pathetic coward." An eagle demon said. "Your friends are fighting for their lives while you run with your tail between your legs."

"They aren't my friend." Spade shrugged. "And frankly, I don't care what happens to the world as long as it doesn't involve me."

"You selfish, conceited bastard." The eagle said disdainfully.

The eagle demon jumped ahead with the intention of slaughtering the coward before the world went black. Hardly anyone recognized what happened until they found they connected the dead eagle on the ground to the gun in Spade's hand. Meanwhile, Cannon the Falcon curved around a fox beasts and slashed his fans across it neck before raising them overhead to block a blow from above. Unfortunately, he was too distracted by the creature attacking him from the sky that he failed to notice the miniscule mouse until it swiped his fans. The leader of the Lunar Rogues stared bug-eyed at his empty hands and slowly began to notice the small crowd circling him.

"Uh...can we talk about this?" Cannon requested nervously. The demon ignored the question and immediately dog-piled the falcon, punching at whatever they could reach. "Whoa! Guess not!"

But even while the demons were pulverizing the creature below them, not a single one noticed that Cannon had escaped and was watching the show only a few feet away. Meanwhile, another battle was taking place closer to the Shore of Angel Island. Aqua had forced her way through the forest and gliding under the water with a few annoyances following her. The aquatic hedgehog curved to the left; carefully avoid the pair of shark demons that struck from behind. As the undersea monster flipped backwards for a second strike, Aqua threw out her hands and formed a bubble around her. The sharks rebounded off the round surface, momentarily dazed.

"_I thought there would be a lot more than this._" Aqua pouted. "_What? Am I not good enough to chase?_"

While the ocean-blue hedgehog sulked in her bubble, another battle was taking place in the forest above them. Aikara was poking absentmindedly at the frozen lizard sculpture hidden in the trees, finding some enjoyment in the activity. Without her realizing it, a gorilla-like demon was hanging overhead by a thick branch. Once certain that the monkey wasn't going to move, the gorilla dropped down with his fists pressed together.

"Take this, you filthy primate!" The gorilla growled, throwing down his fists. But just as he was about to make contact, Aikara vanished almost instantly. "What the?!"

"Cowabunga!"

The Gorilla snapped his attention over his shoulder, only to be met with a powerful kick to the face. Aikara expert strike forced the beast, which was three times her size, off the branch and sent him crashing into the ground with an audible thud. Aikara landed safely on the branch, back flipping with excitement.

"Oh yeah!" Aikara cheered excitedly. "That's what you get for messing with Aikara the – ooh, bananas!"

"It's nearly time." Nazo murmured.

While watching at the carnage taking place below the shrine, Nazo sat in the shadow of the Master Emerald, chanting silently. Mephiles, Tomo, and Nack stood protectively around their leader as he slowly absorbed the vast majority of the Master Emerald's energy. The Dark Ruler had already ascended to the Perfect Form, which was believed to be the farthest he could reach. But even while distracted by the carnivorous beasts around him, Shadow could feel Nazo's power steadily rising beyond its limits.

"This isn't good." Shadow commented, flipping a spider overhead. "Nazo's power just keeps on growing. It will only be a matter of moments before he's equal to Zeenint. Perhaps he might even be stronger than Zeenint."

"We need to stop him before he reaches his full power!" Sonic shouted.

"Just leave that to me!"

A swift blur of black and silver passed between them, signaling the approach of Kadaj. The swordsman rider withdrew his sword, Souba, from its cover as he carved a path up the stairway. But despite the Dark Ruler's defending their leader, none of the trio tried to stop him as the silver-haired rider jumped overhead. Kadaj found it a bit unusual that he was able to pass them so easily, but shrugged it off the moment he landed in front of Nazo. The leader of the shadow organization gazed amusingly at the human, who had raised his double-bladed sword to Nazo's neck.

"Looks like it's game over." Kadaj said smugly.

"Ah, but is the game truly over?" Nazo said mystically; Kadaj stared questionably. "Even if by some miracle that you do defeat me, a empty void will be left in the fabric of reality. I am the embodiment of darkness. And if you kill me, a more terrifying evil will take my place and destroy the light. The light will grow stronger as well." He showed a malevolent grin to the swordsman. "Don't you get it? We are trapped in an endless cycle."

"Tell it to someone who cares." Kadaj said.

The silver-haired swordsman pressed the handle of Souba and stabbed forward, intending to pierce the Dark Ruler's neck. But by that time, the Master Emerald had lost its brilliant gleam – it was too late. Without warning, a pulse of green energy exploded from the God of Darkness, throwing Kadaj off the shrine. Fortunately enough, Storm stopped directly under the silver-haired rider and caught him before touching the ground. The other heroes surrounded him with concerned looks.

"What happened?" Tikal asked worriedly.

"I...couldn't stop...him." Kadaj hissed painfully; a small burn was steaming below his sleeve. "The Master Emerald...he took it all. There was nothing...I could...do."

"There is nothing any of you can do."

The heroes stiffened fearfully. Even though they haven't seen the God of Darkness, they could feel the power radiating from his presence – it was more sinister than even Zeenint's. Though were apprehensive, Sonic and his comrade turned back to the Master Emerald shrine, where Nazo stood beside his allies. The God of Darkness looked similar to his Perfect Form, but his fur was a deep shade of emerald-green and a number of unknown symbols stretched across his body. The Dark Ruler's eyes had disappeared from the overwhelming energy and the kanji of Hell was marked on his forehead. The Heroes had face Naga, Alucard, Armageddon, and Zeenint, but nothing would have prepared them for this.

"For the remainder of your life..." Nazo said slowly. "You may refer to me as..."

"**Master Nazo!**"

* * *

**Nazo has ascended to the level of a true God. Can the Sonic Heroes form together to defeat this unstoppable menace? Is there a way to recover the Master Emerald's power? Or is this checkmate for the universe and the Highest One? Find out on the next Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	101. Heaven and Earth, Part 2

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Part 2 of 3 Finale Arc

All Characters © Respective Owners

Chapter One Hundred and One: Heaven and Earth, Part 2

The scene returns the ongoing war presiding on the legendary Angel Island. After much planning and careful strategy, Nazo had deceived the Sonic Heroes long enough to full fill his ultimate plan – Project: Endgame. The God of Darkness had finished absorbing the powers that had formally belong to Zeenint and stared menacingly at his prey. Friends and enemies alike stopped and watched the emerald-green hedgehog – a wave of cold air blew their spines.

"For the remainder of your life..." Nazo said calmly. "You may refer to me as Master Nazo."

"Master Nazo?" Sonic repeated jokingly. "That's the best you could come up with?"

"The power of the Master Emerald flows through my veins." Nazo stated victoriously. "The strength of a hundred worlds is within my power. And with the Highest One unable to interfere, his death is a simple matter."

"We're not going to let you get away with it!" Amy shouted defiantly.

"Just try and stop me." Nazo challenged.

"No problem, guys." Aura Kistune said confidently as she stepped in front. "I can't take this guy in a minute or less."

"Don't underestimate your opponent, Aura." Shadow advised monotonously. "You may be the granddaughter of a powerful demon, but Nazo now has the powers of Zeenint. For all we know, he could be a hundred times more powerful than the Nine-Tailed Fox."

"Tch, yeah right." Aura scoffed.

The six-tailed sword master may have been level-headed on many occasions, but her experiences have given her a sense of overconfidence. Before any of her friends could stop the half-demon, Aura unsheathed he two blades and made a mad dash up the emerald shrine. Mephiles made a motion to intercept the vixen warrior until his master raised his hand, silently ordering him to remain his place. The moment Aura finally reached the top step, she swiftly swiped her blades around and jabbed them into the Dark Ruler's neckline. Under normal circumstances, this would lead to a fatal blow. But in an unexpected twist, Aura found her body completely frozen into place with her twin swords just a few centimeters short of her target.

"W-what-t..." Aura grunted with effort. "H-how in t-t-the...?"

"With Zeenint's power, I control everything and everyone." Nazo stated, raising only a finger to the half-demon. "In my presence, you are just a small speck that I have allowed to live. Do yourself a favor...and try to survive."

The omnipotent hedgehog pressed his finger into the fox demon's forehead. The simple touch was surprisingly powerful as it tossed Aura back to the ground with lightning agility. Once the half-demon warrior hit the dirt, a crater at least fifteen feet deep formed in her wake. Team Virtex, with Howl in the lead, dropped down into the crater with the wolf swordsman discovering Aura alive, but unconscious.

"Amazing." Hybrid said inspiringly. "He was able to do that by only touching her. His power has increased beyond reason."

"Well, we have been called unreasonable ourselves." Rector commented.

"That because of your terrible prices." Raine commented.

"Ignoring that." Rector grimaced, watching his best friend place Aura softly on the ground. "But either way, we can't let that green psychopath destroy the universe. It's up to Team Virtex to save the day!"

"And we'll be with you all the way." Sonic grinned as the rest of his team joined his side. "Sonic Heroes, time to fight!"

The mighty collection of heroes made their charge across the plains, ignoring the life threatening battles that were appearing around them. The God of Darkness watched the approaching warriors with a bored expression on his face. Nazo merely shook his head and walked back to the lifeless Master Emerald, waving for his followers to gather.

"I don't have time to waste with these insignificant pests." Nazo said lightly. "Take care of them."

"At once, my lord." Mephiles nodded.

"Aw, why us?" Nack complained. "Couldn't you just blow them up or something?"

"Instead of whining all day, maybe you can help." Tomo scowled.

"I don't get paid enough for this." Nack muttered silently.

No one bother to tell him that he was being paid at all – some things were better left unsaid. Team Virtex were the first to make it to the Emerald Shrine and Mephiles took their abilities into account. The time demon forced himself to bend backwards far enough to the point where it sounded like his spine was cracking, much to the disgust of his allies. To add with sickening display, a multitude of ooze puddles shot from Mephiles' chest and landed with a sickening squelch – Nack's found itself to be a waste bin. The collection of black ooze quickly reshaped themselves until they formed a horde of Dark Tigers, Dark Birds, Dark Worms, and a Dark Golem.

"Ok, that's disgusting." Shade commented with contempt.

"The origin is a bit sickening, but highly useful." Mephiles stated, throwing out is claw. "Let's see what you make of them."

With a silent command, the creatures of the darkness lashed ahead for the approaching creatures. Howl quickly made contact with the dark demon and withdrew the Lumen from its sheath. The Dark Tigers hissed and jumped for the wolf swordsman, but were easily dispatched with one swift turn. However, the quick assault left him unexpectedly open at the very moment a dark worm crawled towards his side. Fortunately enough, Marine had followed close behind and released a twin pair of energy spheres to obliterate the Dark Worm from existence. In the meantime, Hybrid the hedgehog was forced to contain himself and Raine in a barrier of electricity while the Dark Birds pecked the hell out of it. That wasn't a smart move considering the flying demons were burning themselves every time they touched, but it did weaken their prey. The only fortunate thing was that Raine provided medicines to keep his stamina going, despite her frail abilities.

"Do you think you have enough to last all day?" Hybrid questioned.

"I should have enough to last you for hours." Raine answered, dabbing green paste across his spine. "But why don't you just attack and get rid of them?"

"If I release the barrier, they'll have ample opportunities to perform a counterstrike." Hybrid explained, struggling to maintain his barrier. "Their main target is you because you can heal everyone in a matter of moments. What we need is someone on the outside to help."

"Ask and ye shall receive."

At that moment, Shade the Echidna jumped into view with her Leech Blades held outwards. The Dark Birds turned their attention and flapped away to avoid her advances. The Knuckles Tribe warrior had failed in her initial attack, but was able to rebound off Hybrid's electrical barrier with little less than a burn. The Dark Birds were caught off guard by the tactic and only watched in horror as the echidna warrior slashed through their chests and scattered the remains across the ground.

"Thanks for the assistance." Hybrid said gratefully as he released the barrier.

"You can thank me later." Shade said sternly, kicking a Dark Tiger in the face. "But first, let's try out best to survive. Has anyone seen Rector around?"

"**Leaf Hurricane!!**"

"Found him." Raine said bluntly.

The ruby-red hedgehog kicked off the ground and delivered a powerful whirlwind kick, which was unfortunately blocked off by the Dark Golem's forearm. Once the original attack failed, Rector back flipped to the ground and quickly rebounded. Because of the Golem's size, it bulking arms swiped and missed Rector by a large area. The leader of Team Virtex dashed past the demon's defenses and drilling his kneecap into the Golem's shin, forcing the titan to fall forward. And without giving it a chance to recover, Rector dropped his elbow in the back of the Golem's head and crushed it into oblivion.

"That takes care of that." Rector smirked, clapping his hands free from dust. "Now who's the next sucker on my list?"

"You have still not learned to fear my power, have you?"

Out of the corner of his eye, the King of Combat caught a purple blur and raised his forearm to stop the attack. However, Mephiles was prepared for this and swiped his foot into the hedgehog's ribs on the opposite side. While the ruby-red fighter doubled over in pain, Mephiles clasped his claws together and brought them down over the mercenary's head. Rector smashed face first into the ground – his body went into shock.

"That was simple enough." Mephiles commented, grabbing the hedgehog by the scruff of his neck. "Personally, I was hoping for more of a challenge than...." Without warning, a blur of red reduced the time beast's head into a small puddle of ooze. Unfortunately, the Dark Ruler was able to regenerate it a moment later. "And once again, I meet with annoyance."

"You better let my brother go!" Amy said threateningly with the Piko-Piko Hammer in hand. Kumori and Blaze stood on either side of their leader, the former looking more eager than the latter. "Otherwise, I'll have to smash you to a pulp!"

"Did you already try that once before?" Kumori asked curiously. "I don't think it worked."

"Shut up!" Amy exclaimed angrily. "You just ruined my cool pose!"

"How about instead of posing, you start fighting!" Kumori screamed back.

With a hint of amusement on his nonexistent expression, Mephiles took advantage of their distraction and charge forward. Catching this, Blaze ignited her palms and tossed a fireball directly into the demon's path. Mephiles effortlessly flipped over the sphere of fire and dived for the Shadow prototype with his claws extended. Blaze's counterattack broke the argument between the female hedgehogs and Kumori swiftly jumped to the air to meet with Mephiles. Both warriors of darkness struck with individual punches and kicks, but Kumori was clearly more experienced in the field. And then she waited until Mephiles finally made a crucial mistake. The demon of time jabbed his fist forward, which Kumori easily dodged by spinning in midair. With Mephiles wide open, the Shadow prototype delivered a strong kick to his face, sending Mephiles hurtling towards the ground. Mephiles dived towards the dirt at a high acceleration, but was unable to make contact. At the last minute, Amy appeared out of nowhere and bashed the time demon with her hammer, sending multiple fragments of himself flying across the ground.

"These creatures just get stronger." Mephiles murmured as his head reformed. "Is this the power of unity?"

In the meantime, Tomo dodged left and right as Storm jabbed his fists at rapid speed. The kunochi chameleon was vastly swifter and more experienced for battle than Storm that she had no trouble spotting his weak point. The moment Storm left himself wide open, Tomo jabbed her hand forward and nailed the albatross between his ribs. However, Storm's tremendous girth provided the perfect barrier to deflect Tomo's strike and push her back. The frustrated kunochi reached over her shoulder and pulled out her katana, only to have it knocked out her hands by Wave's wrench. Tomo hissed furiously and ducked as the swallow swiped overhead with her weapon. The kunoichi chameleon prepared a series of hand signs, but was crudely interrupted as a gust of wind forced her backwards. Tomo stood squarely on her feet and glared at Jet, who stood between his comrade with his feathered fans poised.

"I believe it was you who called yourself the ultimate ninja." Wave said tauntingly. "If that's the best you've got, I would suggest you get a refund on your title. Maybe go for something like the lady floor sweeper."

"That was a terrible taunt." Tomo commented.

"We're not here to make jokes." Jet smirked deviously. "We're just here to kick your tail." The trio of avian stepped forward to charge, only to be blocked off by Charmy and Vector. "Hey, what's the big idea, ya oversized wallet."

"Sorry, guys, but we can't let you continue." Vector said sternly. "If you want to get to her, you'll have to go through us."

"Why?" Tomo sneered. "Are you afraid that they will die if they continue?"

"No, that's not the reason." At that instant, Espio released his camouflage and faced his elder sister. "This battle will continue with only you and me, sister. We have been at war with each other since we were children. No it's time we finally put an end to this feud."

"I always knew this day would come." Tomo said, moving into a fighter's stance. "Come! Let us see who is truly the ultimate ninja!"

Brother and sister stared down at one another with intense fury that had festered in their hearts for the past eight years. Finally, it had all come down to this one fight. Unfortunately, no one was able to see the coming battle as both chameleons used their camouflage abilities and left their audience without a show. Only Jet – his species had the sharpest eyesight – could notice the smaller things that were going on around them. He could see two faint outlines tangled with one another and could barely here the occasional grunts and groans. On rare occasions, Jet thought he saw a spark of fire or a flash of lightning. And after two minutes of heated battling, on of the outlines delivered a powerful right hook to his/her opponent's face. The defeated figured bounced off the ground for a moment and was forced to release the camouflage. The heroes breathed easy as Tomo reappeared on the ground with her face in the dirt and Espio appeared over his defeated sister.

"But....how?" Tomo moaned.

"You have surrendered your heart to the darkness, sister." Espio said mystically. "From the day we were younger I used to watch you and dream of becoming just like you one day. But now I only see a monster of the darkness that can't be saved." He sighed heavily. "I just hope that one day..."

"Cut the long-winded speech already!" Jet exclaimed; Espio facefaulted. "We got to move on to the next scene now!"

O.....K?

As the others were fighting for their lives, Knuckles and Rouge's teams were trying to avoid being shot down. Nack the Weasel had positioned himself at the top of the Emerald Shrine with a sniper rifle in hand, taking careful aim for the heroes. Being the smallest of the group, Tail and Cream were forced to hide behind Omega, who used his metallic body to deflect the bullets aimed for the young ones. At the same time, the E-Series robot had exposed his gatling gun and released a continued assault on the weasel, who was forced to hide behind the pillars. He was trapped behind the stone, but a good marksman such as himself always used the environment to his advantage. After calculating the area and his rifle's power, Nack shot a bullet at the floor, which reflected against the columns, which rebounded off the Master Emerald. And much to the surprise of everyone there, the bullet nailed a direct hit between Omega optics, sending him to a forced shut down.

"Oh no, Omega!" Tails cried as the robot toppled forward. "Omega, please say something!"

"What can I say?" Nack sniggered. "When you've got it, you've got it."

"And we've got you!"

Looking around the column, Nack screamed in fright as Rouge and Knuckles made a direct assault for the weasel. Nack made a reach for his rifle, only to discover that it was no longer in his possession. Back at the base of the shrine, Blue retracted his arms and snapped the sniper rifle in two. With nothing left to protect him, Nack screamed like the coward he was and jumped off the shrine, quickly forgetting that it was twenty feet high. I'm sure he'll survive. In the meantime, Knuckles and Rouge finally reached the top of the Master Emerald Shine just a few short moments before the golden trio joined them. It was there they found Master Nazo meditating peacefully on the top of the deceased Master Emerald

"Well, that was easy." Sonic commented nonchalantly.

"Don't let you guard down!" Shadow snapped irritably. "Mephiles, Tomo, and Nack were just the servants! Now we have to take on the master!"

"You can be quite loud when you want to be, Shadow." Nazo said coolly, never opening his eyes. "I was just in the middle of collecting the Earth's energies when you rudely interrupted me with annoying rant."

"You're finished, Nazo." Silver proclaimed. "We've taken out your guards, your army is quickly dying, and you're all that's left standing. I seriously doubt that you could take on an entire army of heroes."

"And once again, you underestimate me." Nazo said amusingly. "At this point, there is nothing I can't do."

"I'm sick of this talking!" Knuckles growled impatiently. "This is a very big day and I'm not about the like of you ruin it!"

The God of Darkness said nothing, which only further irritated the echidna guardian. Without a sign of warning, Knuckles kicked off the ground and drilled his fist for Nazo's forehead. But in a shocking turn of development, Nazo, who was still willingly blind, craned his head to the right to avoid the echidna's punch. And before Knuckles could counter this, Master Nazo shook his head until his lengthy quills wrapped around his forearm. The guardian echidna could only watch as the God of Darkness twisted his head and send him flying back to the ground. Rouge quickly jumped off the Emerald Shrine and dived to catch her fiancé, leaving the hedgehogs to fight.

"Well, it appears we are alone." Nazo said coolly. The green hedgehog finally broke free from his trance and stood motionlessly on the grey emerald. "After such a long period of waiting, the final battle has begun."

"It's hard to believe a whole year went by." Sonic said with nostalgia. "I remember when we first fought and I had to use the Dark Form to kick your tail." His expression gained a sorrowful emotion. "Nazo...there were a lot of times when I thought I had finally broken through to you. I was your brother in a previous lifetime. All I want to know is....what happened?"

"It is true that you are my brother." Nazo said coldly. "But my thirst for revenge has overpowered my emotions. I have long since ripped my heart from my own body and threw it away into the depths of hell. I have become the mirror image of the blue-haired boy that served Naga."

"He's calling himself a Nobody." Shadow stated. "It would make sense since Nobodies have the ability to remember emotions of their past." He turned to his best friend. "Sonic...he has been stringing you along the whole. He only made you believe that he actually felt sorry so that you would help him in his plan."

"He's been setting all this up from the beginning." Silver glared.

"And it's only now that you figure it out." Nazo said, moving to a fighter's stance. "But by now, it's already too late."

"It's never too late, Nazo." Sonic said defiantly. "As long as we continue to draw breathe, we'll fight you with all we have!"

"That can easily be fixed." Nazo smirked.

And from that point, they knew the final battle had begun. At once, Sonic, Shadow, and Silver ascended to their Super Forms, hoping three of them would be enough to stop Nazo. However, during the time they took to transform, the emerald hedgehog vanished from reality and appeared directly behind Sonic in an instant. Nazo held his palm open to his enemy's back and formed a sphere of green energy until he realized someone had captured his wrist. Super Shadow had strangled the God of Darkness' wrist to prevent him from release the attack on his best friend. Using the Dark Ruler's surprise to his advantage, Shadow pounded his fist into Nazo's gut, forcing him to double over in pain. And while still maintaining a hold on his wrist, Shadow shot the God of Darkness into the sky before throwing a strong Chaos Lance at the green demon. And by the time the smoke cleared, Nazo was nowhere to be found.

You think we got him?" Silver asked hopefully.

"I sincerely doubt it." Sonic said unusually serious. "Nazo's strong and wouldn't be taken down so easily."

"So...where is he?" Silver questioned.

"Right under your noses."

Sonic and Silver looked over, only to discover Shadow had been thrown back to the base of the shrine, forming a crater almost as large as the one Aura made. Nazo rested at the spot where the Ultimate Life-Form once stood, looking as if he had not been struck with a devastating blow. Feeling enraged at how easily he was able to dispatch Shadow, Silver jumped forward and slammed his fist into the master's cheek. And as expected, Nazo's body absorbed the hit without even flinching. The hero of the future soon realized that physical attacks weren't going to work and skipped into the air until he was ten feet above the Dark Ruler. Nazo watched the young hedgehog with mild interest while Sonic jumped away to avoid the oncoming attack. Silver threw out his hands and formed a diamond between his fingers, targeting the God of Darkness.

"**Psi-Cannon!!**" Silver roared.

The hero of the future unleashed beam of white energy twice the size of its originator. And even as the possibly lethal technique approached him, Nazo only watched the blast with a bored expression. Sighing heavily, Nazo jumped on top of the Master Emerald and raised his hand. And to Silver's shock, the emerald hedgehog effortlessly captured the blast in one hand and suppressed it. And with a simple flick of his wrist, Nazo released a small portion of hi own energy and repelled the blast back at the originator. Silver was so stunned by the fact that Nazo had stopped his new attack that he failed to recognize anything else. This proved to be a major mistake as the beam stabbed into Silver's chest, leaving him temporarily immobilized. Fortunately enough, he was able to hold on to his Super Form long enough to hit the ground, prevent more damage.

"Heh! Simple tricks." Nazo scoffed.

"Nazo!" Sonic shouted, drawing the hedgehog's attention. "We all know that's it me you want to fight. Even after several hundred millenniums, you never got the chance to be your own brother in battle. That's the only reason you haven't destroyed me yet."

"Actually, that's where you are wrong." Nazo said smugly. "It's true that there is someone I want to test my powers against, but it's not you. And for all I care, you're not my brother, Sonic the Hedgehog."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Sonic said eagerly. "Show me what you're made of!"

The emerald hedgehog shook his head at the golden hero, but nonetheless agreed to his challenge. Nazo turned around in midair and vanished from the realm of existence once more. But Sonic was prepared for this and raised his forearm to the left to block Nazo's fist. It was at that point, Sonic learned the secret of his vanishing technique. Nazo's arm was connected to a pocket formed in midair, which most like ripped into an alternate dimension. With a strong tug, Sonic pulled Nazo back into the current dimension and kicked the God of Darkness in the chest. This was the first time Nazo had shown to have any damage as a small trail of blood formed out of the corner of his mouth. Still maintaining a hold on his enemy, Sonic spun Nazo around in circles and threw the emerald hedgehog into the ground. The war of Angel Island had temporarily stopped as Nazo crashed in the middle of the battle field.

"Such an annoyance is getting out of hand." Nazo said calmly as he stood, brushing the dust off his fur. "I had hoped to have destroyed my second planet by now. Well, I guess not everything goes as planned."

"Yo, Naz!" Sonic called as he landed. "You're not gonna pass out on me, are ya? Do you want to take a break?"

"Don't belittle me, hedgehog." Nazo said coolly. "I have been through many battles that would make even your quills curl."

"Dad said the same thing to me once." Sonic informed jokingly. "But I never really believed him."

"Hey!" Gale shouted

"I am growing tired of this meaningless squabble." Nazo stated monotonously. "I will end this now."

Unfortunately, Nazo was a man of his word. Instead of escaping into the alternate dimension as Sonic had expected, Nazo made a direct attack and jabbed his fist into the hedgehog's chest. The golden heroes was tossed backwards into the war zone like a feeble rag doll, which Nazo was only too happy to prove. After remembering an event in his early days as a Guardian, Nazo decided it was time test a new technique. While Sonic stilled hovered in midair, Nazo released an unexpected burst of speed and circle the golden hero a multitude of times. And in that time, he delivered exactly two hundred and seventeen solid blows in ten seconds flat. Sonic couldn't withstand the amount of pressure impaling his body and unwillingly surrendered his Super Form. Just as Silver was forcing himself to his knees, Sonic landed a few feet from him – he was heavily bruised and covered in blood.

"Son...ic..." Silver moaned weakly.

"You have nothing to worry about." The young hedgehog gasped as Nazo appeared beside him. "As I recall correctly, you and Mephiles exist outside of time. Neither of you will be effected by the events of the past."

"That...doesn't...matter." Silver muttered weakly. "What you're doing...is wrong. I can...understand that...you would want revenge." He took a moment to catch his breathe. "But killing off innocent people is not the right way to do it. How do you think your brother or your love react if they saw you like this."

"I guess we'll never know." Nazo said coldly.

The God of Darkness scowled the silver hedgehog and raised his hand to gather a collection of energy. Silver wanted to move, but his body refused to listen to anything his brain was telling him. It looked like Nazo was finally going to succeed in killing the futuristic hedgehog until his hand was suddenly encased in a dome of water. Both warrior were caught off guard by this sudden development and were dumbfounded as the water continued to rise against Nazo's body. And struggled as he might, it was only a short amount of time before the God of Darkness was completely incased in a prison of water.

"How in the...?" Silver said confused.

"_Silver the Hedgehog..._" An ominous voice said. "_It is I, Chaos of the Master Emerald_."

"Chaos?!" Silver exclaimed. "You...you can speak to me?!"

"_This wavelength is normally reserved only for Tikal, but I need to speak with you._" Chaos explained. "_There are some thing you need to know before you are ready to fight Nazo._"

"But I can't beat him." Silver said hopelessly. "He's too strong."

"_Nazo said that he had planned ahead of Zeenint._" Chaos stated. "_In some cases, that may be true. But there was one important fact that Zeenint knew about that Nazo didn't: your sleeping power. That's why Zeenint wanted to kill you ahead of time to prevent it from awakening._"

"Kill...me?" Silver repeated.

"_Inside you burns a flame of great power._" Chaos said. "_And Zeenint feared that you would one day learn to accept that power and become a great threat. I believe you refer to it as the Flames of Disaster._"

"Iblis!!" Silver yelled furiously. "You want me to release Iblis?! Are you out of your mind?!"

"_You need to accept that power, Silver._" Chaos said desperately. "_Already, it has begun to mingle with your chaos energy and body, which explains your advanced abilities. But unless you allow it enter your mind and heart; you will never be able to contain its power._"

"I don't want that power!" Silver scowled. "That monster destroyed my home!"

"_Silver..._" Chaos said calmly. "_Is there ever a time you regret not erasing Mephiles from existence._"

At first, the hero of the future thought that would be an easy answer. Mephiles was the one who had created the false Iblis to destroy the future and manipulated everyone into releasing the real Iblis. And all this time, Silver believed his hatred for Mephiles was justified. But the more he thought about it, the more he began to realize how much of a mistake that was. If it wasn't for Mephiles, He would have never met Sonic or the rest of his friends. And though unintentionally, Mephiles had given him the key that could save the future.

"No..." Silver answered.

"_Blaming others is always easier than forgiving them._" Chaos said wisely. "_I doubt you will ever learn to forgive Mephiles and Iblis for the torment they have put you through, but you need to push these thoughts aside. Let go of the past and think of the future._" Without warning, the emerald guardian cried out in pain. "_I don't have time – Nazo is breaking free._"

"Then we'll fight him together." Silver said determined.

"_No..._" Chaos said quietly. "_My time in this world is over. It is up to you to preserve the stability of the universe, Silver the hedgehog._" For one moment, it looked like he was smiling. "_Say good bye to Tikal for me._"

Then all of a sudden, the aquatic cage was shattered and drops of water were scattered across the plain. Nazo panted heavily, trying to take in the sweet relief of fresh air once again. Silver stared at the nearest water drop resting on a fallen leaf, hoping that it would resume to its original form. But the small liquid remained motionless, confirming Silver worst fears.

Chaos was dead.

"I heard you talking while I was trapped." Nazo said shaking his wet fur. "That old fool placed too much faith in the hands of a child. He honestly expects me to believe that Zeenint saw you as a greater threat than Sonic or shadow? What a laugh."

"Chaos...believed in me." Silver whispered softly.

"And look where it got him." Nazo said, referring to the wet plain. "That monstrosity was doomed to fail from the start. It seems like his master plan turned out to be a big waste of time."

"Chaos said that I would be the one to protect the universe." Silver growled, clenching his fists tightly. "I don't know what he meant for me to do, but I promise I won't let monsters of the darkness like you destroy everything we worked for!" Nazo stepped back as he felt a sudden spike in the hedgehog's power. "I'll kill you! And I'll make sure you NEVER come back, Nazo!!!"

The area surrounding Silver exploded with a mixture of white Chaos and burning flames. Heroes and villains alike had ceased their fighting and stood marveled at the occurrence. Master Nazo tried desperately to stand firm, raising his arms to block out the piercing light and flames. For one fraction of the moment, Nazo swore he saw the shadow of Iblis hiding in the flames. And just as fast as they came, the flames vanished without a trace. Once realizing the worst had passed, Nazo lowered his arms to see, discovering an unknown power. Silver's body had turned the brightest shade of white with seven quills sticking from the back of his head. Yellow lines ran through a majority of his body with the kanji of heaven printed on his forehead. The newly-powered warrior opened his eyes slowly, taking in the sight of Master Nazo with his burning-red eyes.

"Who...are you?" Nazo questioned hesitantly.

"Your reign of terror has finally ended, Nazo." Silver said; his voice mixed with a deep growl. "I am the hope of the universe – the light that will pierce the darkness! I am...

**Heaven Silver!!**

* * *

**A hero ascends to a new level to combat the darkness. Will Heaven Silver's power be enough to defeat Master Nazo? Has Silver finally learned to control Iblis? What will the final outcome be for the war? Find out on the epic conclusion of Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	102. Heaven and Earth, Part 3

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Part 3 of 3 Finale Arc

All Characters © Respective Owners

Chapter One Hundred and Two: Heaven and Earth, Part 3

The scene returns to the battle field of Angel Island, where the final conflict to the greatest war was about to begin. Despite their best efforts, Master Nazo effortlessly overpowered the Sonic Heroes without suffering as much as a scratch. And as a bonus, the God of Darkness took great pleasure in destroying Chaos of the Master Emerald. After a great struggle of conflicting morals, Silver accepted the fire demon within his heart and evolved to the Heaven Form. As of now, the war between both good and evil had come to a halt as Master Nazo and Heaven Silver stared down against one another.

"Who...are you?" Nazo questioned hesitantly.

"Your reign of terror has finally ended, Nazo." Silver said; his voice mixed with a deep growl. "I am the hope of the universe – the light that will pierce the darkness! I am Heaven Silver!!"

"Whoa, what happened to Silver?" Sonic asked amazingly.

"He looks like he evolved." Shadow said dumbfounded.

"He's so bright!" A bat demon screeched.

"I wonder who his barber is." A wolf beast asked randomly.

"Heaven Silver, eh?" Nazo chuckled lowly, clapping his hands in a mock applause. "That was a very touching speech – very dramatic and appealing. But I could care less for what you have to say. All I know is that I am the one with the superior power and my ambition for revenge will be sanctified."

"Your ambition ends here, Nazo?" Silver scowled darkly. "I have accepted the darkness within my heart and united with the light to ascend towards a new power. I'm not certain if I possess the strength to defeat you, but I will fight till my last breathe."

"Which will come very shortly." Nazo said confidently, moving to a fighter's position. "Now, show me this power that you..."

That was as far as the emerald-green hedgehog could get before he was forced to double over in pain. Silver had suddenly disappeared from sight for one second and struck Nazo's chest the next. The heroes cheered and yelled in praise while the villain staggered back in shock; Nazo had been forced to his knees in one blow. The Dark Ruler took a small moment to gain a second wind and swiftly turned with a cluster of green arrows in his hand. Silver somehow saw this coming and vanished without a trace just a half-second before his enemy attacked. And where the attack missed, four of Nazo's soldiers were eliminated by the uncontrolled arrows. But the lives of his creations meant nothing to the Dark Ruler as he turned to scan the area. The search didn't last long as he found the white hedgehog leaning against the emerald shrine.

"Heh! Too slow!" Silver taunted.

"_No, it has nothing to do with speed._" Nazo thought carefully. "_If that were the case, I would easily dominate him for Iblis cannot provide an increase in speed._" He relaxed himself as the Heaven hedgehog stood. "_I think I understand. This boy exists outside of time because his powers have mixed with Mephiles'. And because Iblis is acting upon Silver's conscious mind, he is unintentionally moving through time itself." _He smirked darkly. "_This should be entertaining._"

"Hey, are you going to stand or fight?!" Silver shouted.

"I already had my turn." Nazo said nonchalantly. "I think the younger generation should get a chance to express themselves."

"You're starting to sound like an old man." Silver commented.

The emerald-green hedgehog shook his head in amusement – Silver jumped at the chance. Time literally slowed down around the glowing hedgehog, allowing him to moving through the eternal passage unnoticed. Once he was close enough, Heaven Silver jabbed his fist forward towards Nazo's forehead. But by the time his knuckles were within half an inch from the Dark Ruler's face, time resumed its normal pace and Nazo vanished. Silver was thrown off guard by the sudden disappearance – he failed to notice the dimensional ripple forming behind him. Master Nazo emerged from the alternate dimension twisted around to strike his opponent in the ribs. The glowing hedgehog cried out in pain, leaving himself open for the Dark Ruler to strike in the face. Heroes and villains quickly jumped to the side as the warrior of the future skidded against the grass and smashed his head into a tree, toppling it over. Nazo's army quickly fled the island as their master approach his young with a wall of heroes separating them.

"Aw, isn't this precious." Nazo mocked. "All his friends are willing to throw his life away for him."

"Who said anything about throwing my life away?!" Spade glared as he was forced into place by Shadow and Tikal. "I don't even like anyone here! I wasn't even invited to this damn wedding!"

"Silver is our friend." Blaze said certainly, ignoring the wolf's commentary. "The Sonic Heroes stand united and protect each other from danger. And I will fight with all my strength to defend the one I love."

"Love..." Nazo scoffed. "How could someone as young and narrow-minded such as you understand the concept? You do not understand the joy and pain one receives from an unpredictable emotion. The suffering alone was enough reason for me to rip my heart out."

"Just because your love died doesn't mean others suffer the same." Blaze stated solemnly.

A pulsing vein emerged from the Dark Ruler's forehead, alerting them of the rage forming in his mind. And before they had the chance to blink, Master Nazo eroded into a swirling vortex. The Sonic Heroes were on high alert. Now that Nazo was watching them from an alternate dimension, he hundreds of opportunities to strike without giving himself away. Amelia noticed the vortex forming above their heads and quickly told the others, causing them to focus on that one space. This proved to be a disastrous mistake as the Sonic Heroes failed to notice over twenty voids forming in a circle around them. And by the time anyone had realized what had occurred, a storm of Chaos Spears struck each and every fighter a critical blow. Either by Nazo's will or some stroke of luck, none of the Heroes suffered any fatal blows. Blaze lay flat on her stomach with a smoking burn over her left shoulder, spilling a small quantity of blood down her clothing. The pyro feline tried to push herself up, only to feel Nazo's foot press her down.

"Such pain and misery." Nazo said monotonously. "Though I may have forgone my heart, it is simple matter of how to destroy one."

"You'll never... break me." Blaze growled weakly.

"But it is not you that I want to break." Nazo informed coldly, lowering himself closer to her ear. "Silver has managed to maintain control so far, but that won't last long if he becomes absorbed in his anger." He watched Blaze's eyes shoot wide in horror. "That's right. Iblis will be free, Mephiles will rejoin his brother, and I will be one step closer to realizing my ambition."]

"Silver...won't...lose." Blaze stated spitefully.

"You seem confident." Nazo said as he raised his hand overhead. "Let's see if your words prove true."

In one sharp motion, the God of Darkness thrusted his hand directly for Blaze's spine. And surprisingly, but not unexpected, and hand jumped into sight and captured the demon warrior's strike before he could finish. Nazo glanced up to Silver and, with immense satisfaction, noticed a change in his attitude. The glowing hedgehog was growling monstrously as the golden lines that traced his body shifted to a vibrant red. The enraged hedgehog tightened his grip around Nazo's wrist – one could hear a faint crack – and lifted him off the ground by a few feet. Immediately after he was in the air, Silver raised his fists in a rapid-fire motion, nailing the Dark Ruler exactly twenty-one times in the chest before a powerful uppercut. And while Nazo tried to regain his balance, Silver screamed furiously and unleashed a thick stream of fire. The cindering flames covered Nazo, hopefully devouring his body. Meanwhile, Blaze watched in fright at what her lover was becoming.

"No..." Blaze groaned as she forced herself to her knees. "Silver...you can't..."

"There's nothing you can do for him, Blaze." The pyro cat was surprised as Shadow placed a hand on her shoulder; he seemed fairly unharmed. "This isn't a fairytale where love can solve any problem. Silver needs to maintain control of his anger alone."

"But..."

"Just stay out." Shadow said with a final tone.

The skyward smoke clouds parted after a moment, revealing the emerald-green hedgehog hidden within the dust. Master Nazo seemed relatively uninjured with the exception of the shining-red burns on his forearms. The God of Darkness hissed while his Chaos abilities healed the marks, emitting a faint slip of steam.

"I clearly underestimated him." Nazo winced. "But still, it's only a matter of time before Silver succumbs to his anger. And when that time comes, there will be nothing left to stop me."

Heaven Silver, disoriented by Iblis' fury, exploded off the ground with an inhumane roar. Nazo was barely able to catch his movements and swiftly raised his forearm to defend against his overhead kick. The God of Darkness groaned the moment Silver's foot connected with his forearm, which was still healing. Taking Nazo's distraction as an opportunity, the glowing hedgehog back flipped and stabbed his hand for his heart. Unfortunately, the Dark Ruler grabbed Silver's wrist before it could make contact with his skin. Nazo maintain his grip on the hedgehog and twirled him around before throwing the future warrior in a random. Silver collided with the ground, forming a wide crater in his wake, but jumped shortly back to his feet with a menacing glare.

"Damn it!!" Silver screeched. "I'm going to kill you!!"

"_Silver, Stop!_" The glowing hedgehog followed the command with a shocked expression. "_You can't allow this madness to continue!_"

"_Chaos...?_" Silver responded hesitantly. "_But how...?_"

"_I am contacting you from the afterlife through the Council of Death._" Chaos explained hurriedly. "_I tried to convince the Council to allow me a temporary link to mind, but I failed dismally. Thankfully, the Highest One managed to change their mind._"

"_Can't this wait?_" Silver sneered, glaring at the dark demon above. "_I'm close to killing your murderer._"

"_But that's exactly what Nazo wants._" Chaos stated. "_If you continue to feed your anger, Iblis will draw strength from it and eventually breech the seal that contains it. And if that happens, Nazo will be unstoppable. You can't rely on hatred to be your source of power._"

"_Then what am I supposed to do?!_" Silver snapped.

"_Just think about what your fighting for and center your thoughts around it._" Chaos answered calmly. "_Focus your heart around those memories and they will give you the strength to tame the beast within you._"

Silver found the former guardian's lack of reasoning to be very irritable, but reluctantly agreed. He tried to focus his mind around the objects of his affections, but the flames of Iblis formed a barrier around his thoughts. And the more he focused, the farther he seemed out of reach. But then he found a small sliver of light in the fire demon's wall. Through that small fragment, the memories of his friends began to slip across the barrier. He could see his ancestors, Sonic and Amy, standing happily together, Shadow giving a proud grin with the Sonic Heroes in the background, and even caught a glance of Mephiles. But of all the faces, Blaze's seemed to shine the brightest of all of them.

"What is this?" Nazo questioned confused. He took notice of Silver's drastic change once the radiating markings flashed from burning-red to piercing gold. "He managed to tame the Flames of Destruction. He's gone farther than any could have expected."

"All right, Nazo!" Silver shouted confidently. "Are you ready for round two?!"

"Actually, I am really behind schedule." Nazo said unconcerned. "I should have destroyed my third world by now. So..."

The God of Darkness nonchalantly raised his left hand into the air, sending Silver on the defensive. And due to his heightened senses, the hero of the future could detect a cold chill radiating from the demon's palm. He wasn't the only one that could feel the pressure – Shadow and Sonic gave involuntary shivers. Darkness culminated into the Dark Ruler's palm and traveled through his body as a surge of black lightning to his right hand. Master Nazo brought his hand back as the darkness continued to cluster around his fist. Hoping to counteract this, Silver brought his palms together it front of him, rapidly drawing out as much energy as he could gather. The Chaos Energy reshaped into a perfect white sphere formed from pure light.

"So you plan to fight against me, do you?!" Nazo cackled victoriously. "This works out perfectly! If you try to fight back, you'll die! But if you try to avoid it, this whole planet will be eradicated! Either way, I win!"

"Don't count on it, Nazo!" Silver shouted in return. "I'll fight back with everything I got!"

The Sonic Heroes quickly took cover, understanding what was going to happen next – Spade tried to make a run for it. Both sides of the battle drew out the long minutes collecting the twilight energies surrounding them. Dark clouds rolled over the sea-blue sky with the sounds of thunder rumbling across the plains – lightning flashed in the background. Sonic felt the first drop before the rain showered over them. Master Nazo and Heaven Silver ignored the droplets of waters and finished the final preparations of the final clash. They struck instantly.

"**Final Cataclysm!!**" Nazo roared.

"**Final Chaos!!**" Silver shouted.

The God of Darkness threw out his right hand, unleashing a mighty black wave, and Silver pressed his hands ahead to form a blast of white energy. Both attacks collided in midair, emitting a shockwave that nearly threw the Sonic Heroes off the island – Charmy was the unfortunate exception. Master Nazo attempted to force his Final Cataclysm further down the connection, but Silver pushed back with equal force. A stalemate seemed to have been drawn between them and the glowing hedgehog seemed to think the same thing.

"Looks like we're evenly matched, Nazo!" Silver proclaimed while struggling.

"That's what you may believe." Nazo said coolly over the calamity. "But so far, I have only been using my right hands. Let's see what happens when I use my left!"

Silver watched the event with terror visible in his eyes as the Dark Ruler raised free hand. It took him much less time to gather the necessary energy and added his collective energy to the blast. In that one instant, Nazo's Final Cataclysm doubled in strength and size, effortless devouring Silver's Final Chaos technique. Heaven Silver attempted to react to this as quickly as possible and managed to keep a small remainder of his attack in place. But there was no denying that Silver was at a disadvantage, especially since there was only half an inch of pure energy separating him from certain doom. The Sonic Heroes, who were struggling to remain in place, felt helpless as their friend faced this challenge alone.

"Isn't there any way we can help him?" Amy asked hopefully.

"That attack is made from raw Chaos Energy." Shadow explained thoughtfully. "Nothing less of a Super Form could get within twenty feet of the blast radius. But even if we had enough strength to activate the Super Form, there's no guaranteeing that any of our attacks will be enough to give Silver a chance to fight back."

"So you're saying we can't do anything?!" Blaze growled angrily; Shadow kept a solemn expression. "Great! What else could go wrong?!"

"Has anyone seen Cheese?" Cream asked worried.

Looking around the battlefield, this was the first time anyone noticed that the small Chao was not among them. Meanwhile, Silver struggled to maintain the thin barrier that was protecting him. With each passing second, the glowing hedgehog felt his energy fade away and the defenses were slowly weakening. Silver suddenly dropped to his knees, but left his hands raised to hold the shield.

"It can't end like this." Silver groaned painfully. "I won't fail."

"_Don't give up yet, Silver!_" Chaos shouted through the mental link. "_There is still one chance left!_"

"_There is?_" Silver thought hopefully. "_What do you mean?_"

The glowing hedgehog remained silent to listen for the former Guardian's explanation, much to Nazo's interest. The God of Darkness then realized a superior smirk crossed his opponent's expression. And using the force of sheer willpower, Silver pushed to his feet and strengthened his defensive barrier.

"Well, looks like someone's eager to rejoin the fight." Nazo smirked.

"Actually, there is no fight." Silver grinned confidently. "This battle is over."

"What are you prattling on about?" Nazo questioned sternly.

"For someone who planned to kill Zeenint you didn't really think that far ahead." Silver said with confidence. "You overlooked the fact that I could control Iblis' power and become a threat. And though you have proven that you are clearly the superior in terms of strength, there is one more crucial fact that you missed."

"What do you mean?" Nazo growled furiously. "Answer me!"

"Haven't you ever wondered what happened after Zeenint was turned to an animal?" Silver chuckled playfully. "The universe had lost three of its Sovereigns. The Highest One couldn't maintain the universe alone, so he created three new guardians to replace the ones he lost. That means someone else replaced Zeenint as the Northern Sovereign." Nazo hissed at this hedgehog, irritated by his riddles. "I think you would know him very well. He's been around since Parasiden was destroyed."

"Since Parasiden was..." Nazo repeated slowly. All of a sudden, his expression turned to one of true fright as he turned his attention to the direction of the Master Emerald. The enlarged gem remained colorless, but a familiar character stood atop the jewel with a serious stare. It was Cheese. "You don't mean that....?"

"That's right!" Silver laughed. "Cheese is the North Sovereign! And that means the power of the Master Emerald is his to command!"

Once given the signal, Cheese hovered loftily over the deceased gem, singing a claming note. Nazo felt something stir in his chest and soon realized that the energies of the Chaos and Master Emeralds were leaving him. All eight gems regained the former glow as Master Nazo was forced to resume his Perfect Form. With the sudden decease in the Dark Ruler's power, Silver was able to gain a firm grasp on the Final Cataclysm and thrusted it into space. The hero of the future finally found a chance to regain his breathe while Nazo hovered in midair, staring at his hands in shock.

"This..." Nazo panted unevenly. "This can't be happening..." He gripped his fists and exclaimed with pure rage. "I won't allow this to happen! I will not become a subordinate to miniscule pest!!"

Perfect Nazo summon a single Chaos Lance to his hand and threatened to release it upon Cheese. However, the Dark Ruler found his wrist captured by Silver, who relieved him of any power he had left.

"It's over, Nazo." Silver said coldly. "And this time, there's no coming back."

The glowing hedgehog twisted his enemy around and delivered a solid uppercut, sending him flying close to the clouds. And before Nazo could get the chance to regain his bearings, Silver opened his mouth to release a course of flames. Using his psychic abilities, the hero of the future commanded the fire to form a perfect sphere around him. Nazo finally caught his balance and rocketed downwards in a fit of rage. This ultimately proved to be his last mistake. As Nazo charged ahead, Silver thrusted his fists upwards in the flaming dome and produced a column of fire towards the sky. The God of Darkness barely caught this and pressed his hands to stop the initial attack. But after everything they have been through, Nazo knew this was as far as he could go.

"I feel sorry for you, Nazo." Silver stated within the dome. "You had a right to want recompense, but you allowed yourself to surrender your heart to the darkness. If there is any light left in you, I hope one day that it will be reborn and we can become good friends." He clenched his fists in preparation for the final strike. "But that's just wishful thinking."

And with that, Silver threw up his fists and unleashed a second burst of fire. And this time, the Dark Ruler had no strength to deflect the assault. But before he was completely incinerated, Sonic noticed a feint glimmer of victory in Nazo eyes from a distance. The God of Darkness cried out in pain while the flames devoured every fraction of his body, right down to the smallest atom. The pillar of fire pierced through the shadowing clouds, brushing them away to allow the sun to shine again once more. Heaven Silver released his flames – the sunlight glimmered against his white fur. Against all possibility, against all expectations, Nazo of the Dark Rulers was finally dead.

"He did it!!" Kumori screamed joyfully.

The Heroes could not hold back their happiness and cheered until their lungs were worn out. Up in the sky, Heaven Silver smiled proudly at his friends as Cheese drifted close to his face. The glowing hedgehog allowed the Northern Sovereign to sit on his shoulder, sighing in relief and gratitude.

"It's finally over." Silver whispered softly.

"_This is where we say goodbye, Silver._" Chaos Echoed. "_Never forget what you have learned this day._"

"The greatest gifts can come from the smallest places." Silver smiled, petting Cheese's head.

Chaos could finally rest in peace. After spending nearly an hour to repair all the damage, Knuckles and Rouge decided to continue the wedding where it left off. They were hoping to get married before they died of old age. All though Mephiles and the remainder of the Dark Rulers got away, they were no longer considered a threat. Without their leader, the shadowed warriors were powerless and most likely wouldn't attack anytime soon. With this in mind, the wedding went off without a hitch. Tikal was able to get through her speech and Knuckles and Rouge painted a strip of their own blood across their lover's forehead – Marine passed out after that. And after what seemed like a century, they had finally reached the end.

"The blood you both share will exist through the next generation." Tikal recited happily; she wiped a tear from her eye. "And just as your love bonds you together, so will the joys of your friends continue to strengthen. And with proud acceptance, I now declare you as one."

"Thank you, Tikal." Knuckles nodded.

"So what are you waiting for, man?" Sonic chuckled, slapping his friend's shoulder. "Kiss her already."

Knuckles' faces had turned the same shade of red as his fur. The echidna had never shown any public displays of affection before, but that didn't stop Rouge. The vampire heiress jumped into her new husbands arms and forced his lip onto hers, forming the final bonds between them. In all the excitement, Rouge unintentionally threw her bouquet and, to Tails' distress, was captured by Cream. The gathered friends and family clapped respectfully for the newly wedding – Spade was forced to do so with a machine gun to his back.

"It looks like we get a happy ending after all." Silver smiled.

"You are so naïve, Silver." Blaze said playfully. "This is just a new beginning.

* * *

The final scene alternates the ruins of the Dark Ruler's castle, which seemed to have become much colder during its time of abandonment. Shira Darkcrest somehow found a way to ignore the freezing temperature and remained seated in the white marble throne that had formerly belong to her master. Up-close, one would notice that her skin was unusually pale and her hair had lost its former sheen. The feminine hedgehog looked deathly sick and seemed on the brink of passing out, but she refused to sleep until she knew what was happening.

"Shira..." A weak voice called.

"Mephiles?" Shira asked hopefully.

As expected, the time demon emerged from the dark corridor, keeping close to the wall. Mephiles the Dark had not fully recovered from the battle, as displayed by the lack of his right arm and eye. The time demon limped forward briefly and quickly collapsed to the ground, frightening Shira gravely. She threw herself out of the throne and dashed to her lover's side, placing his head on her lap.

"What happened?" Shira gasped fearfully. "Where are the others?"

"Tomo and Nack ran like the filthy cowards they are." Mephiles growled weakly. "And Lord Nazo had unfortunately met his end."

"This is tragic, but not unexpected." Shira sighed tiredly. "Lord Nazo had prepared for this in any case that he should be defeated by the Sonic Heroes. We still have a plan to fall back on."

"Project: End Game is a failure." Mephiles said calmly. "But now we can begin Project: Rebirth."

Shira smiled down at the demon she loved, who returned her pleasing gaze. Instinctively, Mephiles raised his claw and placed it against her stomach, rubbing it softly. It was there he could feel it: the heart beat of a child.

Nazo's child

* * *

**The end only leads to a new beginning. What events will continue from the end of this grand adventure? Will Nazo's final plan prove to be the heroes' undoing? What future awaits them? Find out on Epilogue of Sonic Heroes!**

**Please, read and review.**


	103. Epilogue

**SONIC HEROES: THE SERIES**

Epilogue

With the downfall of Nazo and the Dark Rulers, the Sonic Heroes were no longer needed and disbanded shortly after. There were occasional threats from Eggman's group, but the matter was usually settled by either Shadow or Knuckles. As for the Heroes themselves, they each went on their own separate path

Sonic the Hedgehog returned to South Island after finally learning to take responsibility for those he cared for. He willingly resumed his studies with his mentor and prepared himself to take Queen Aleena's throne in the future. The hardest part about returning to his home land was leaving behind his friends and breaking off his relationship with Amy – Rector proved to be scarier than Naga could ever dream of. He still goes on occasionally adventures with his little brother, Stream, to the secondary island, must to Lucario's distress. Their lasted adventure lasted for two weeks – Sonic was grounded for a month.

Shadow the Hedgehog, no longer acting as the leader of the Sonic Heroes, returned to the G.U.N. military with Kumori at his side. Already having advanced status, the manufactured hedgehogs rose diligently through the rankings. And during the many times they could break away from work, they would visit Maria – the clone – and tell stories of the old days. About four months after Nazo's defeat, The Commander retired his post and offered the position to Shadow. However, the Ultimate Life-Form preferred working out in the field and surrendered the title to Kumori.

Silver the Hedgehog and Blaze the Cat contemplated on what they were going to after Nazo's downfall. They argued whether to return the Sol Dimension or travel through time to Future City. Eventually, they came to an agreement and remained in their current world, where they could retain close contact with their friends. And besides that, Mephiles was still at large and would most likely appear once again in the near future. But unknown to Blaze, the silver hedgehog was secretly training to control his power. Iblis' entire essence had become a part of his heart and soul – they were one being.

Amy Rose took this sudden separation harder than anyone. With the threat of Nazo and the Dark Rulers over, she willingly believed that she and Sonic would finally have some peace. But her heart was consequently shattered when learning that the cobalt hedgehog was breaking their relationship to continue his studies at South Island. The heartbroken hedgehog stayed with her brother for a short period of time before setting out on her own. In secret, she had been participating in illegal underground fighting tournament and currently reigns as Queen of the Cage. Her anger has become her greatest weapon.

Jet the Hawk, Wave the Swallow, and Storm the Albatross returned to their old career as the Babylon Rogues. Jet has matured into a thoughtful and decisive leader as he carried his team through missions they never would have dreamed of. Wave, finally accepting her heritage as a Lunar Rogue, united the two enemies together, which was deemed impossible. And Storm had grown into a mighty juggernaut that could only be rivaled by Knuckles and has increased his intelligence and confidence as well. Together, these three has conquer many opponents, one of them included an ancient sorceress *hint, hint*.

With Chaos' unwelcomed death, Blue was chosen to become the new guardian of the Master Emerald. The liquid seemed against this at first, but Tikal's persuasive methods changed his mind. Five months after Nazo had been defeated, the delighted echidna announced that she was in love with Blue and chose to live on Angel Island with him. Blue happiness was only amplified as Chao began returning to their birth land, magically reconnecting Angel Island to the mainland.

No longer being the guardian of the ancient gem, Knuckles was free from the curse of his ancestors and able to leave. He and Rouge settled themselves in the busy neighborhood of Night Babylon, against the echidna's wishes. Using the money she had collected from the number of treasures she 'borrowed', Rouge opened her own night club and casino: Club Rouge. Knuckles continued his training to become the strongest and acted as the bouncer for his wife's business incase a fight broke out or someone stared at Rouge the wrong way. Recently, he had been hearing rumor about the Queen of the Cage.

E-123 Omega returned to the city of his origin: Megalo City. It took some extensive work, but the E-Series robot managed to reprogram all the Meteor Tech robots and transform them into a security system. With the vast knowledge he had collected over the years, Omega situated himself as the brain of Meteor Tech and even regained his original body for mobility reasons. His systems have worked against common criminals, but only one band of thieves has ever managed to escape him.

Under the suggestion of his sister, Tails left his former life and traveled to the Demon Mountains, where their mother was raised. Tails and Aura continued their training under a shadowed master, where they would learn to control the powers their grandfather left behind. Unfortunately, Tails wasn't as disciplined as his sister and continued to tinker with technology, despite the items being labeled as forbidden. But Aura vouched that his brother would never use modern science against them and the demons left him in peace. But that did not mean they trusted him.

With Cheese leaving the planet to act as the North Sovereign, Cream was alone for the first time in living memory. But surprisingly, she wasn't upset by this turn of events. Instead, she dedicated herself to grow stronger and began her own personal training trip around the world. No one has heard from her since the beginning as she began sending fewer messages to her friends. Her last letter came to Sonic four months after her journey began and learned she was studying martial arts under a woman called Tigress. She said it was difficult and painful, but she would endure it.

Much to everyone's surprise, Vector surrendered his leadership to Espio only a few short days after the battle. Espio felt pressured by the position, which typically caused him to slip up during a mission. But thanks to Vector's own mentoring, Espio learned to be more confident in himself and slowly grew bolder with each mission. Charmy was still an annoying bumblebee that loved to annoy others unless Raine was around – Espio and Vector made a note to invite her more often.

Team Virtex continued living their normal mercenary lives with little changes. Rector, who generally disliked Sonic for his relationship with Amy, now despised every cell of the hedgehog for breaking his sister's heart. He made a vow to crush the cobalt prince if ever given the opportunity. Shade barely passed her entrance exam by two points and was happily invited as a full-fledged member of the team. The spark between Howl and Aura seemed to have intensified to a powerful infatuation as they both sent messages every three days. Raine continued crafting new medicines until she was recognized as the youngest creature to ever earn a Ph.G and was often badgered by scientists for her secrets. Shockingly enough, Marine loved to study magic and tried to memorize ever spell in the book Thorn gave her – the older members swore to never let him within thirty yards of the girl. Hybrid's life remained a mystery as he generally never reveals his true intentions.

The Seven Seas Crew decided to remain as a team and travel the world to learn more about its nature. Since learning the many tales of a higher existence from Nazo, the group was even more anxious to learn all their secrets. They occasionally worried about their children, but knew they were in safe hands.

Eggman and Rai enjoyed what remainder of time they had left before Rai was accepted into a prestigious collage in Europe. Talon, Esp, and Knux continued following their leader, who became Mecha after Metal had perished in battle. While Esp and Talon showed no argument for him taking charge, Knux seemed to think Mecha planed his former comrade to die. Emerl remained distant from the others, including his mother, and focused on nothing except destroying Sonic. Violet continued to live her easygoing life when, one day, she heard a noise coming from Amelia's room. When she peeked inside, she was struck with disbelief.

And thus, the end of the long journey finally comes to an end. But just as Blaze had said, this was only a new beginning. With Nazo's destruction, an even greater threat would soon emerge from the shadow. And this threat divided itself into three separate paths.

---

The scene opens to dark and desolate cave hidden deep beneath the grand river in the Land of the Seas – water echoed as it dropped from the ceiling. Nothing existed in the dreary cavern except for the number of stalagmites and stalactites scattered across the rocky surface. All of a sudden, a flicker of white fire ignited at the heart of a crafted stone carving shaped like a lantern, illuminating the cavern. It in turn revealed six spectral figures reflected against the light. Four of the phantoms had human structures, one of them was much bulkier and a few feet tallest, and the largest of them represented a winged beast. The character that was hunched over seemed to be laughing of something the others didn't know.

"Well, this is certainly a momentous occasion for the planet." The hunchbacked creature laughed deeply. "I haven't seen such a celebration since the Separatists took over the planet of Halista."

"What are you talking about, machine?" The large beast snarled.

"Lord Nazo is dead." The hunchbacked warrior cackled. "It's all over the planet's news."

"So the ruler of darkness has fallen." The golden-eyed human said monotonously. "This is not unexpected. There is a reason why all of us were gathered under one name."

"Hahaha! This is too good to be true!" The broad-chested human laughed rapturously. "After hearing all his nonsense, the spiky-haired rodent finally bit the dust! Now I can resume my conquest of my kingdom!"

"Have fun digging." The dome-headed character said snidely. "Your 'kingdom' has been buried in sand for the past four hundred years. I doubt anyone even remembers your name."

"Silence, you abomination!" The broad-chested warrior sneered.

"That will be enough." The bulky character announced, effectively ending the argument. "Our leader is here."

At these words, the group immediately made themselves presentable as a seventh phantom flickered into existence by the lanterns light. The new character was definitely human with messy, spiky hair and very distinctive eyes. They were a deep shade of violet with a ripple-like pattern around the pupil. Most of them learned to fear their leader for the power he presented, but only the golden-eyed human knew the true secrets of his eyes.

"I am certain you have heard the news." The leader said.

"Nazo is dead." The bulky character stated immediately. "His death was at the hands of a creature named Silver the Hedgehog. He somehow obtained the powers of a strong flame and wielded it against our former benefactor."

"A strong flame, huh?" The golden-eyed human said interestingly.

"This does not detour our plans." The leader proclaimed. "On the contrary, everything is going exactly as it should. Before his death, Lord Nazo has entrusted me with artifacts that will aid us in the coming war. Mephiles has taken two into his possession and we are left with the others." He turned his attention to one of the more specific characters. "Now we wait for the proper moment to strike. But before we do, I have a mission for you."

"Name it." The dome-headed warrior responded.

"How fast can you reach the planet of Babylon?" The leader questioned.

---

The scene alternates to a misshapen region within an endless desert...in another dimension. Upon closer inspection, the land in question closely resembled a junkyard of machines and other technological devices. But in some cases, all the junk and stone had been reshaped into makeshift shelters and stations – most of them were armed with some sort of weapon. The largest structure in the city was an ancient clock tower with bricks out of place, gears sticking out from the sides, and the clock face was missing several numbers. As the resident's of this strange world continued with their daily tasks, their power leader watched them through the glass of the clock tower. The unknown master wore a black cloak with an unusual symbol on his back: a pair of snake fangs with a drop of venom between them. The enigmatic leader concealed his identity beneath his hood and stared endlessly into space until...

"Master, it has happened?" A new voice hissed. "The first door is about to open."

The hidden leader turned to face his loyal subordinate. The creature greatly resembled Naga the Snake, but with a darker shade of venomous scales and a row of barbs line along his spine. He wore a sleeveless, black shirt, a pair of matching pants tightened around the ankles, fingerless black gloves, and a set of toeless boots. For reasons unknown, he wore a thick black cloth around his eyes and carried a silver shield on his back. The two creatures just stared at one another for several long moments before the master responded.

"Show me."

The enigmatic beings journeyed to the lowest parts of the clock tower and followed a secret path that lead to the deepest reaches of the planet. The snake warrior carried a flaming torch in his hands for his superior to see as they traveled a lengthy flight of stairs, turning and jumping occasionally. By the time they had reached the final step, they were estimated to be relatively close to the planets core, though they were used to the intense heat. The unknown duo had reached a towering chamber made from cobalt-blue stone with an unusual structure based at the other end. They approached it and discovered a wall made pure emerald gemstones with a number of runes carved into the face.

"What was it that you wanted to show me?" The leader questioned impatiently.

"I could feel the energy pulsating." The snake proclaimed. "It will open in a moment."

"If you are wasting my time, I swear to the name of..." The leader began.

The shadowed creature was shortly interrupted by the wall in question. The emerald gateway erupted in a flash of brilliant light, blinding both characters painfully. The jeweled wall raised itself upwards and effectively disappeared from sight, taking the radiance with it. When the enigmatic duo was able to recollect their sense, they noticed a new wall replacing the old one. A wall made from topaz held the mural of a fan with a row of runes at the bottom.

"The first door has been open." The snake warrior hissed. "That must mean this 'God of Darkness' must have perished in battle. The text said only to downfall of evil would lead to the first step of awakening."

"A god that is defeated is not considered as such." The leader said pleasingly, pressing his hand against the wall. "I wish for you to translate this text immediately and begin research."

"Yes, my lord." The snake bowed.

"This is only the beginning." The leader chuckled lowly. "Only six more doors and the forgotten weapon will be mine."

---

The scene is transported to an abandoned city...twenty years in the future. The ancient ruins in question was comprised of high industry towers – most of them made from enlarged pipes – and was separated into six levels. The high moisture in the atmosphere commanded the clouds to release a large quantity of rain. To those who couldn't recognize this rain would realize they were in Amegakure, the former headquarters of Akatsuki. Since the battle against Madara Uchiha, the villagers were forced to leave their home by their leader in search for a new place to remain hidden. With the desertion of its residents, Amegakure slowly rusted away with times. However, not everyone had decided to let the former village waste away.

"Ahh...such a great find." A hushed voice said.

In the lowest levels of Amegakure, an unknown character was digging through a discarded pile of metal, discovering a piece of steel with a red cloud. The explorer was a snowy-white owl with a silver beak and a tuft of dark head feathers. He wore dark-green archeologist vest, dark-green boots with black laces and silver cuffs, a pair of grey gloves with black tape around the palms, and a silver medallion hanging around his neck. The interested owl picked out selected a small brush from his vest and gently brushed the dust away from the slab.

"In perfect condition as well." The owl said happily. "Just needs a little rinse and it would be perfect for the Akatsuki section in the museum. This will show those snobby experts that the Akatsuki really was here."

"**You just love showing them up.**" A low voice growled.

"Ah, don't tell me you don't love it." The owl grinned. He slowly placed the metal slab on the ground and suddenly stiffened; he took in a deep breath of air. "Do you feel that?"

"**They finally found us.**"

The explorer owl remained motionless for several long minutes, listing carefully to his surroundings. This became difficult as the rain was pounding several levels above him, but he persevered through it. And then he heard it. A pair of slow footsteps echoed through the foundations and grew louder as they owner approached. The concentrated owl stood to his feet and gaze into the darkness once the unknown enemy made himself known. The warriors face was hidden beneath his hood, but he wore a jet-black cloak with a zipper down the middle and white flames at the cuffs, hem, and neckline. He wore black boots and gloves to conceal the remainder of his body. His cloak was dripping wet, indicating that he had just escape the rain.

"Can I help you?" The owl questioned

"Are you Meta, the archeologist?" The unknown character questioned.

"That would be me." Meta nodded shortly. "And you must be one of those Hakumei rogues that I've heard so much about. I heard that most of the members could be identified by the ring they were on their hands." His gaze fell upon the man's right index finger, which held a deathly-black ring. "Ooh, I had no idea that I was speaking to the leader of all people. I am deeply honored."

"If you have heard of us, then you know my reasons for being here." The leader stated.

"You want the beast inside of me." Meta grinned challengingly. "Well, I've grown awfully attached with the little guy. So if you want to get to him, you'll have to fight me for it."

"I really do not wish to fight you." The leader said calmly. "But I will not let you interfere with my goal."

The confident owl clapped his hands together, grinning madly at his opponent. Without warning, black-neon hooks were tattooed across his arms and legs, a spiked sphere appeared was printed on his chest, and the kanji for 'Iron' appeared on his forehead. His normally golden eyes transformed to an eternal pool of black as he swiped his hands to either side. The leader of the Hakumei remained indifferent, even as the metallic structures around them began reshaping themselves. Metal lamps were changed to silver steel snakes, slabs of iron turned to metal wolves, and the builds were changed to iron giants. With a motion of his hands, the living metal charged ahead for the cloaked villain.

---

The final scene alternates to an endless wasteland, where a familiar character was perched atop a towering cliffside. Mephiles the Dark looked unchanged after two decades with only exception of his clothing. Much like the leader of the Hakumei, he wore a black cloak with a metal zipper running down the middle and white flames on the cuffs, hem, and neckline. He did not wear boots or gloves, but held gold ring on his right ring finger. The time demon sighed heavily as he stared into the stars, losing himself into the depths.

"I wonder when he will return." Mephiles said nonchalantly.

"You should have asked Oracle."

A flash of light erupted the moment Mephiles turned around. The Hakumei leader stood across from his partner – his right sleeve was ripped off to reveal his white fur - and carried a body over his shoulder. The leader crouched down and gently placed the body on the ground, showing Mephiles the unconscious owl he had only recently defeated.

"You're getting sloppy." Mephiles scolded, pointing to the missing sleeve. "You allowed him to injure you. I did not train you for fifteen years just so that you could make yourself and easy target."

"The Chaos Sparks are much more powerful than normal enemies." The leader proclaimed. "I would say they are well above the level of the former Dark Rulers, possibly even greater than the Sonic Heroes. This one was able to fully control his beast."

"But you are more powerful than them as well." Mephiles stated agitatedly. "Why won't you release your dormant powers to aid you in battle."

"I despise fighting, Mephiles." The leader answered calmly. "But you know this already."

The leader picked up his target again and placed him on his shoulder before disappearing via Chaos Control.

"This is truly unbelievable." Mephiles said softly. "He does not possess a trace of darkness in his heart – it's entirely pure. I'm beginning to wonder if he really is your son, Lord Nazo."

**THE END!!**

* * *

**And the long road finally reaches its end, but leads to another journey. I will postpone my Sonic Stories until I finish Reverse/Rebirth. Until then, stay tuned for Sonic Heroes: Desert Winds and Sonic Rush: Next Generation.**

**Please, read and review.**


End file.
